Phosphoinositide binding by the pleckstrin homology domains of Ipl and Tih1

The Ipl protein consists of a single pleckstrin homology (PH) domain with short N- and C-terminal extensions. This protein is highly conserved among vertebrates, and it acts to limit placental growth in mice. However, its biochemical function is unknown. The closest paralogue of Ipl is Tih1, another small PH domain protein. By sequence comparisons, Ipl and Tih1 define an outlying branch of the PH domain superfamily. Here we describe phosphatidylinositol phosphate (PIP) binding by these proteins. Ipl and Tih1 bind to immobilized PIPs with moderate affinity, but this binding is weaker and more promiscuous than that of prototypical PH domains from the general receptor for phosphoinositides (GRP1), phospholipase C 51, and dual adaptor for phosphoinositides and phosphotyrosine 1. In COS7 cells exposed to epidermal growth factor, green fluorescent protein (GFP)-Ipl and GFP-Tih1 accumulate at membrane ruffles without clearing from the cytoplasm, whereas control GFP-GRP1 translocates rapidly to the plasma membrane and clears from the cytoplasm. Ras*-Ipl and Ras*-Tih1 fusion proteins both rescue cdc25ts Saccharomyces cerevisiae, but Ras*-Ipl rescues more efficiently in the presence of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), whereas PI3K-independent rescue is more efficient with Ras*-Tih1. Site-directed mutagenesis defines amino acids in the beta1-loopl-beta2 regions of Ipl and Tih1 as essential for growth rescue in this assay. Thus, Ipl and Tih1 are bona fide PH domain proteins, with broad specificity and moderate affinity for PIPs.