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Section of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853
Members of the ezrin-radixin-moesin (ERM)
family of membrane-cytoskeletal linking proteins have
NH2- and COOH-terminal domains that associate with
the plasma membrane and the actin cytoskeleton, respectively. To search for ERM binding partners potentially involved in membrane association, tissue lysates
were subjected to affinity chromatography on the immobilized NH2-terminal domains of ezrin and moesin,
which comprise the ezrin-radixin-moesin-association domain (N-ERMAD). A collection of polypeptides at
50-53 kD from human placenta and at 58-59 kD from
bovine brain bound directly to both N-ERMADs. The
50-53-kD placental proteins migrated as a major 50-kD
species after phosphatase treatment, indicating that the
heterogeneity is due to different phosphorylation states. We refer to these polypeptides as ERM-binding phosphoprotein 50 (EBP50). Sequence analysis of human
EBP50 was used to identify an ~2-kb human cDNA that
encodes a 357-residue polypeptide. Recombinant EBP50 binds tightly to the N-ERMADs of ezrin and
moesin. Peptide sequences from the brain candidate indicated that it is closely related to EBP50. EBP50 has
two PSD-95/DlgA/ZO-1-like (PDZ) domains and is
most likely a homologue of rabbit protein cofactor,
which is involved in the protein kinase A regulation of
the renal brush border Na+/H+ exchanger. EBP50 is
widely distributed in tissues, and is particularly enriched
in those containing polarized epithelia. Immunofluorescence microscopy of cultured cells and tissues revealed
that EBP50 colocalizes with actin and ezrin in the apical microvilli of epithelial cells, and immunoelectron
microscopy demonstrated that it is specifically associated with the microvilli of the placental syncytiotrophoblast. Moreover, EBP50 and ezrin can be coimmunoprecipitated as a complex from isolated human
placental microvilli. These findings show that EBP50 is
a physiologically relevant ezrin binding protein. Since
PDZ domains are known to mediate associations with
integral membrane proteins, one mode of membrane
attachment of ezrin is likely to be mediated through
EBP50.
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