Crystal structure of the PI 3-kinase p85 amino-terminal SH2 domain and its phosphopeptide complexes.

Crystal structures of the amino-terminal SH2 domain of the p85alpha subunit of phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase, alone and in complex with phosphopeptides bearing pTyr-Met/Val-Xaa-Met motifs, show that phosphopeptides bind in the two-pronged manner seen in high-affinity Lck and Src SH2 complexes, with conserved interactions between the domain and the peptide segment from phosphotyrosine to Met+3. Peptide binding requires the rearrangement of a tyrosyl side chain in the BG loop to create the hydrophobic Met+3 binding pocket. The structures suggest a mechanism for the biological specificity exhibited by PI 3-kinase in its interactions with phosphoprotein partners.