A novel calmodulin-beta-PIX interaction and its implication in receptor tyrosine kinase regulation.
Calmodulin (CaM), a ubiquitous calcium-binding protein, regulates numerous cellular processes, primarily in response to calcium flux. We have identified and characterized a novel interaction between CaM and β-p21-activated kinase interacting exchange factor (β-PIX), a putative guanine exchange factor implicated in cell signaling, using affinity pull-down assays, co- immunoprecipitation, co-localization and circular dichroism studies. Fluorescence-based titration and isothermal titration calorimetry experiments revealed a Ca(2+)-dependent binding mechanism (K(D)≤10μM). Further, we show that CaM participates in a multi-protein complex involving β-PIX and E3 ubiquitin ligase c-Cbl (casitas B-cell lymphoma), which may play a critical role in receptor tyrosine kinase regulation and downstream signaling.