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Alternative names for members of the Shank family *

Protein complexes of specific composition assembled in particular regions of the cell function as molecular machines that govern subcellular structure, protein targeting and signal transduction. These modular assemblies are often built around one or more central ‘scaffold’ proteins, which contain multiple domains for protein-protein interaction, such as PDZ domains and SH3 domains (Pawson and Scott, 1997). Recently, a family of scaffold proteins (the Shank family) has been independently identified by several different investigators through the ability of these proteins to bind to a variety of membrane and cytoplasmic proteins. A synthesis of these recent studies is useful because Shank proteins probably play roles in multiple cell biological contexts. Here, we review the current state of knowledge about the expression patterns and the structure and function of members of the Shank family, focusing on the nervous system, where most is known.