SNX16 Regulates the Recycling of E-Cadherin through a Unique Mechanism of Coordinated Membrane and Cargo Binding

Summary E-Cadherin is a major component of adherens junctions on cell surfaces. SNX16 is a unique member of sorting nexins that contains a coiled-coil (CC) domain downstream of the PX domain. We report here that SNX16 regulates the recycling trafficking of E-cadherin. We solved the crystal structure of PX-CC unit of SNX16 and revealed a unique shear shaped homodimer. We identified a novel PI3P binding pocket in SNX16 that consists of both the PX and the CC domains. Surprisingly, we showed that the PPII/α2 loop, which is generally regarded as a membrane insertion loop in PX family proteins, is involved in the E-cadherin binding with SNX16. We then proposed a multivalent membrane binding model for SNX16. Our study postulates a new mechanism for coordinated membrane binding and cargo binding for SNX family proteins in general, and provide novel insights into recycling trafficking of E-cadherin.