9AX5 | pdb_00009ax5

Cryo-EM structure of Phospholipase C epsilon PH-C terminus in complex with RhoA-GTP

• PDB DOI: https://doi.org/10.2210/pdb9AX5/pdb
• EM Map EMD-43927: EMDB EMDataResource

• Classification: MEMBRANE PROTEIN
• Organism(s): Rattus norvegicus, Homo sapiens
• Expression System: Spodoptera frugiperda, Trichoplusia ni
• Mutation(s): No 


• Deposited: 2024-03-05 Released: 2025-03-12 
• Deposition Author(s): Ohri, V., Lyon, A.M.
• Funding Organization(s): National Institutes of Health/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NIH/NHLBI)

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Experimental Data Snapshot

• Method: ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
• Resolution: 3.30 Å
• Aggregation State: PARTICLE 
• Reconstruction Method: SINGLE PARTICLE 

Literature

RhoA allosterically activates phospholipase C epsilon via its EF hands.

Ohri, V., Samassekou, K., Muralidharan, K., Garland-Kuntz, E.E., Fisher, I.J., Hogan, W.C., Davis, B.M., Lyon, A.M.

(2025) Commun Biol 8: 1368-1368

• PubMed: 41006770 
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-08742-0
• Primary Citation Related Structures: 
  9AX5


• PubMed Abstract: 
  

  Phospholipase Cε (PLCε) cleaves phosphatidylinositol lipids to increase intracellular Ca ²⁺ and activate protein kinase C (PKC) in response to stimulation of cell surface receptors. PLCε is activated via direct binding of small GTPases at the cytoplasmic leaflets of cellular membranes. In the cardiovascular system, the RhoA GTPase regulates PLCε to initiate a pathway that protects against ischemia/reperfusion injuries, but the underlying molecular mechanism is not known. We present here the cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) reconstruction of RhoA bound to PLCε, showing that the G protein binds a unique insertion within the PLCε EF hands. Deletion of or mutations to this PLCε insertion decrease RhoA-dependent activation without impacting its regulation by other G proteins. Together, our data support a model wherein RhoA binding to PLCε allosterically activates the lipase and increases its interactions with the membrane, resulting in maximum activity and cardiomyocyte survival.

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Organizational Affiliation: 
• Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA.
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
James Tarpo Jr. and Margaret Tarpo Department of Chemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA.
Department of Pharmacology, Yale Medical School, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
Abigail Wexner Research Institute, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA.
Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA. [e-mail].
James Tarpo Jr. and Margaret Tarpo Department of Chemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA. [e-mail].

Biological Assembly 1  

Global Symmetry: Asymmetric - C1 
Global Stoichiometry: Hetero 2-mer - A1B1 

Biological assembly 1 assigned by authors and generated by (software)

Biological Assembly Evidence: electron microscopy

Macromolecule Content 

• Total Structure Weight: 190.34 kDa 
• Atom Count: 8,543 
• Modeled Residue Count: 1,065 
• Deposited Residue Count: 1,684 
• Unique protein chains: 2

Macromolecules

Entity ID: 1
Molecule	Chains	Sequence Length	Organism	Details	Image
1-phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate phosphodiesterase epsilon-1	A	1,468	Rattus norvegicus	Mutation(s): 0  Gene Names: Plce1, Plce EC: 3.1.4.11
UniProt
Find proteins for Q99P84 (Rattus norvegicus) Explore Q99P84  Go to UniProtKB:  Q99P84

Entity ID: 2
Molecule	Chains	Sequence Length	Organism	Details	Image
Transforming protein RhoA	B [auth C]	216	Homo sapiens	Mutation(s): 0  Gene Names: RHOA, ARH12, ARHA, RHO12 EC: 3.6.5.2
UniProt & NIH Common Fund Data Resources
Find proteins for P61586 (Homo sapiens) Explore P61586  Go to UniProtKB:  P61586
PHAROS:  P61586 GTEx:  ENSG00000067560

Small Molecules

Ligands 3 Unique
ID	Chains	Name / Formula / InChI Key	2D Diagram
GTP (Subject of Investigation/LOI)	D [auth C]	GUANOSINE-5'-TRIPHOSPHATE C10 H16 N5 O14 P3 XKMLYUALXHKNFT-UUOKFMHZSA-N
CA (Subject of Investigation/LOI)	C [auth A]	CALCIUM ION Ca BHPQYMZQTOCNFJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N
MG (Subject of Investigation/LOI)	E [auth C]	MAGNESIUM ION Mg JLVVSXFLKOJNIY-UHFFFAOYSA-N

Experimental Data & Validation

Experimental Data

• Method: ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
• Resolution: 3.30 Å
• Aggregation State: PARTICLE 
• Reconstruction Method: SINGLE PARTICLE 

Structure Validation

Entry History 

& Funding Information

Deposition Data

• Released Date: 2025-03-12 
Deposition Author(s): Ohri, V., Lyon, A.M.

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Funding Organization	Location	Grant Number
National Institutes of Health/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NIH/NHLBI)	United States	1R01HL141076-01

Revision History  

• Version 1.0: 2025-03-12
  Type: Initial release
  
• Version 1.1: 2025-10-15
  Changes: Data collection, Database references