Processes involved: adhesion

From VCL (human) - phosphorylation sites added via direct mapping

Vinculin is a 117 kDa protein localized to focal adhesions. The globular head region of vinculin (Vh) contains the binding sites for talin and alpha-actinin whereas its rod-like tail domain (Vt) contains the binding sites for F-actin and paxillin. The proline-rich region between Vh and Vt interacts with VASP. The intramolecular interaction between Vh and Vt renders these sites inaccessible to vinculin binding partners. The crystal structure of Vt features a bundle of five amphipathic helices and a C-terminal arm, which emerges as a hydrophobic hairpin surrounded by a collar of basic residues. The crystal structure of Vt leads to a regulation model in which an interaction between the negatively charged head groups of phospholipids and the basic collar of Vt disrupts the intramolecular interaction of vinculin and thus exposes multiple protein binding sites. Unlike talin, vinculin is not essential for focal adhesion assembly in that vinculin-null ES (embryonic stem) cells still form focal adhesion-like structures. Vinculin may carry out its function by stabilizing the interaction between talin and actin (and/or the interaction between talin and membrane) or by recruiting profilin/G-actin to actin polymerization sites.

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^* The resources presented here are largely those generated by the Consortium. The sidebar provides public databases that complement Consortium activities. For mice and biosensors, a public database is not available and therefore we have attempted to generate a migration related list for your convenience.