The enzyme phospholipase Cγ1 (PLCγ1) is essential for Tcell signaling and activation. Following T cell receptor ligation, PLCγ1 interacts through its SH2 and SH3 domains with the adaptors LAT and SLP-76, respectively, to form a multiprotein signaling complex that leads to activation of PLCγ1 by Syk tyrosine kinases. To identify the binding site for PLCγ1 in SLP-76, we used isothermal titration calorimetry to measure affinities for the interaction of PLCγ1-SH3 with a set of overlapping peptides spanning the central proline-rich region of SLP-76. PLCγ1-SH3 bound with high specificity to the SLP-76 motif 186 PPVPPQRP 193 , which represents the minimal binding site. To understand the basis for selective recognition, we determined the crystal structures of PLCγ1-SH3 in free form, and bound to a 10-mer peptide containing this site, to resolutions of 1.60 Å and 1.81 Å, respectively. The structures reveal that several key contacting residues of the SH3 shift toward the SLP-76 peptide upon complex formation, optimizing the fit and strengthening hydrophobic interactions. Selectivity results mainly from strict shape complementarity between protein and peptide, rather than sequencespecific hydrogen bonding. In addition, Pro193 of SLP-76 assists in positioning Arg192 into the compass pocket of PLCγ1-SH3, which coordinates the compass residue through an unusual aspartate. The PLCγ1-SH3/SLP-76 structure provides insights into ligand binding by SH3 domains related to PLCγ1-SH3, as well as into recognition by PLCγ1 of signaling partners other than SLP-76. Keywords crystal structure; SH3; calorimetry; T cell signaling; phospholipase Cγ1The enzyme phospholipase Cγ1 (PLCγ1) is an essential signal transducing element in T cell activation and development. 1,2 This multidomain protein comprises two Src homology 2 (SH2), one Src homology 3 (SH3), one pleckstrin homology (PH), and two catalytic domains (lipase and C2). 3 PLCγ1 interacts with tyrosine-phosphorylated sites on target proteins through its SH2 domains, and with proline-rich sequences through its SH3, resulting in formation of specific complexes that mediate T cell signaling. 1,2,4 In addition, PLCγ1 plays a pivotal role in cellular growth and proliferation through interactions with various growth factor receptors, such as epidermal growth factor receptor, 3,[5][6][7] and has been shown to function as a guanine nucleotide exchange factor for the nuclear GTPase PIKE. 8 Following engagement of the T cell receptor (TCR) by MHC/peptide ligands, the transmembrane adaptor protein, linker for activation of T cells (LAT) SLP-76 is composed of three distinct domains: (1) an N-terminal domain bearing tyrosine residues that become phosphorylated following TCR engagement, enabling SLP-76 to bind the SH2-containing proteins Vav and Nck; (2) a C-terminal SH2 domain which binds phosphorylated ADAP; and (3) a central proline-rich region that contains binding sites for the SH3 domains of Gads and PLCγ1. 1,2 The binding site for Gads-SH3 has been precisely mapped to residues 233−241 o...