Dual control of membrane targeting by PtdIns(4)P and ARF.

In mammalian cells, three types of phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase (PI4K) are associated with the Golgi complex, where their product, phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate [PtdIns(4)P], is concentrated. The role of PtdIns(4)P in this compartment and how the PtdIns(4)P-positive membrane domain is formed and maintained despite continuous membrane flow are, however, poorly understood. Recent work has shown that PtdIns(4)P and the small GTPase ARF1 function cooperatively in the recruitment of four-phosphate adaptor proteins (FAPPs) to the trans-Golgi network (TGN) and has implicated FAPPs in formation of the membrane domain and in post-Golgi trafficking.