What Do Scaffold Proteins Really Do?
James E. Ferrell, Jr. The author is in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Stanford University School of Medicine, CCSR, 269 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305-5174, USA. E-mail: ferrell{at}cmgm.stanford.edu’ + u + ‘@’ + d + ”//–> Abstract: Scaffold proteins play an important role in coordinating signal transduction cascades. However, their exact mechanism of action and the ultimate effect they have on the signal output remain unclear. Ferrell discusses how computer simulations have provided insight into the multiple possible functions that scaffold proteins may have. What remains is to test the predictions in real cells to determine what difference the presence of a scaffold really makes in the output of a signaling pathway.
