Authors:	Subramanian D, Laketa V, Müller R, Tischer C, Zarbakhsh S, Pepperkok R, Schultz C
CellNetworks People:	Pepperkok Rainer
Journal:	Nat Chem Biol. 2010 May;6(5):324-6

Phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate (PtdIns(3)P) is a phospholipid residing on early endosomes, where it is proposed to be involved in endosomal fusion. We synthesized membrane-permeant derivatives of PtdIns(3)P, including a caged version that is to our knowledge the first photoactivatable phosphoinositide derivative developed so far. In living cells, photoactivation of caged PtdIns(3)P induced rapid endosomal fusion in an EEA1-dependent fashion, thus providing in vivo evidence that PtdIns(3)P is a sufficient signal for driving this process.