Preface
All biological functions are regulated by protein networks whose organization relies on
finely tuned protein-protein and protein-lipid interactions. PDZ domains represent one of
the most widely distributed protein-protein interaction domains and contribute to a large
number of biological processes, from the plasma membrane to the nucleus, especially in cellcell communication and cell polarity. Their importance in physiology and pathologies such
as cancer, neurodegenerative and infectious diseases being now well established since their
discovery in the 1990s, they have brought the interest of many laboratories, which has led to
the development of dedicated techniques able to predict and identify their ligands, characterize their functions in normal and pathological conditions, and, more recently, conduct
the design of peptide or chemical inhibitors. This volume provides a comprehensive overview of the techniques currently applied to identify and characterize PDZ-mediated interactions and opens the discussion on priority topics emerging in this area of investigation
(promiscuity, multimodularity, regulation, and viral recognition by PDZ domains).
Marseille, France
Jean-Paul Borg
v
All biological functions are regulated by protein networks whose organization relies on
finely tuned protein-protein and protein-lipid interactions. PDZ domains represent one of
the most widely distributed protein-protein interaction domains and contribute to a large
number of biological processes, from the plasma membrane to the nucleus, especially in cellcell communication and cell polarity. Their importance in physiology and pathologies such
as cancer, neurodegenerative and infectious diseases being now well established since their
discovery in the 1990s, they have brought the interest of many laboratories, which has led to
the development of dedicated techniques able to predict and identify their ligands, characterize their functions in normal and pathological conditions, and, more recently, conduct
the design of peptide or chemical inhibitors. This volume provides a comprehensive overview of the techniques currently applied to identify and characterize PDZ-mediated interactions and opens the discussion on priority topics emerging in this area of investigation
(promiscuity, multimodularity, regulation, and viral recognition by PDZ domains).
Marseille, France
Jean-Paul Borg
v