Slippery signaling: Palmitoylation-dependent control of neuronal kinase localization and activity

Abstract

Modification of proteins with the lipid palmitate, a process called palmitoylation, is important for the normal function of neuronal cells. However, most attention has focused on how palmitoylation regulates the targeting and trafficking of neurotransmitter receptors and non-enzymatic scaffold proteins. In this review we discuss recent studies that suggest that palmitoylation also plays additional roles in neurons by controlling the localization, interactions and perhaps even the activity of protein kinases that play key roles in physiological neuronal regulation and in neuropathological processes.

• Glutamate receptor
• acylation
• signaling
• phosphorylation
• palmitoylation

Acknowledgements

We thank Drs Sabrina Holland and Francesca DeSimone for comments on the manuscript. This study was supported by grants from NIH (R21NS087414 and R01NS094402) and Shriners Hospitals for Children (85600 and 86610) to G.M.T.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.