Families of phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C: structure and function

A large number of extracellular signals stimulate hydrolysis of phosphatidy linositol 4,5-bisphosphate by phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C (PI -PLC). PI-PLC isozymes have been found in a broad spectrum of organisms and although they have common catalytic properties, their regulation involves different signalling pathways, A number of recent studies provided an insig ht into domain organisation of PI-PLC isozymes and contributed towards bett er understanding of the structural basis for catalysis, cellular localisati on and molecular changes that could underlie the process of their activatio n. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.