Membrane skeleton orchestrates the platelet glycoprotein (GP) Ib-IX complex clustering and signaling.

Platelet glycoprotein Ib-IX complex is affixed to the membrane skeleton through interaction with actin binding protein 280 (ABP-280). We find that removal of the ABP-280 binding sites in GP Ibα cytoplasmic tail has little impact on the complex clustering induced by antibody crosslinking. However, large truncation of the GP Ibα cytoplasmic tail allows the formation of larger patches of the complex, suggesting that an ABP-280 independent force may exist. Besides, we observe that the signaling upon GP Ib-IX clustering is elicited in both membrane lipid domain dependent and independent manner, a choice that relies on how the membrane skeleton interacts with the complex. Our findings suggest a more complex mechanism for how the membrane skeleton regulates the GP Ib-IX function. © 2016 IUBMB Life, 68(10):823-829, 2016.