Type IIα phosphatidylinositol phosphate kinase associates with the plasma membrane via interaction with type I isoforms

The phosphatidylinositol phosphate kinases (PIPkins) are a family of enzymes involved in regulating levels of several functionally important inositol phospholipids within cells. The PIPkin family is subdivided into three on the basis of substrate specificity, each subtype presumably regulating levels of different subsets of the inositol lipids. The physiological function of the type II isoforms, which exhibit a preference for phosphatidylinositol 5-phosphate, a lipid about which very little is known, is particularly poorly understood. In the present study, we demonstrate interaction between, and co-immunoprecipitation of, type IIα PIPkin with the related, but biochemically and immunologically distinct, type I PIPkin isoforms. Type IIα PIPkin interacts with all three known type I PIPkins (α, β and γ), and in each case co-expression of the type I isoform with type IIα results in recruitment of the latter from the cytosol to the plasma membrane of the cell. This change in subcellular localization could result in improved access of the type IIα PIPkin to its lipid substrates.