Inositol phosphates are a class of small molecules involved in signalling and metabolism. The wide breadth of functions they are associated with, including cell migration, DNA repair, telomere length maintenance, insulin sensitivity, phosphate homeostasis, cell cycle regulation, and necroptosis, testifies to the importance of these molecules in biology.

Inositol and phosphate, can, in combination, produce a library of cell signaling molecules, simply referred as inositol phosphates. The fully phosphorylated inositol ring known as inositol hexakisphosphate (InsP6) controls various cellular functions directly or indirectly as precursors of inositol pyrophosphates such as InsP7 and InsP8.

We've asked Melda Tozluoglu, from the Mao Lab, to tell us about her recent publication in Developmental Cell.

Multiple tissues in our body, such as the brain, and the gut, are folded structures. Similar to an origami crane emerging from the folds of a paper, all growing tissues must fold in precise positions, at multiple steps during development, to reach the correct 3D adult shape. If these folds do not form in the correct way, the structure and function of the organ will be disrupted.