Interactions between the cell membrane and the cytoskeleton play a major role in different aspects of cell differentiation, such as cell motility, cell division, and establishment of cellular architecture. Of particular importance in this context is the association of cortical actin with the cell membrane. The ERM 1 proteins, ezrin, radixin, and moesin, are members of the large 4.1 protein family and are involved in membrane-cytoskeleton interactions. They link the actin cytoskeleton to membranebound proteins located at different membrane sites, i.e. microvilli, membrane ruffles, and cell-cell contacts (1-3). This is accomplished by binding of the C-terminal part of the ERM proteins to actin and of the N-terminal FERM domain to specific membrane proteins (4). FERM domains have been found in many different proteins and are thought to be modules for protein-protein and protein-membrane interactions (5). The ERM proteins are involved in cell adhesion and signal transduction events through phosphorylation (6, 7) and interaction with phosphoinositides (8). The ERM proteins play an important role in the activation of Rho family proteins and can interact both downstream (9) and upstream (10) of Rho.In addition, the ERM proteins are involved in membrane dynamics (11). When ezrin, radixin, and moesin were simultaneously inactivated by antisense treatment in epithelial cells, cell-cell and cell-substratum adhesion was altered (12). Double suppression of radixin and moesin, but not ezrin and radixin or moesin, alters growth cone motility, inhibiting neurite extension (13). In contrast, overexpression of ezrin in insect cells leads to enhanced cell adhesion (14). The mechanisms behind these effects are, however, not well understood, but ERM proteins are known to interact with various proteins such as CD44 and ICAM-1, -2, and -3, which helps in establishing membrane specializations (for review, see Ref. 7). The identification and characterization of further binding partners for ERM proteins can give new insights into the function of these proteins.We have recently identified a novel ERM family protein, MIR, which has an ERM domain at the N terminus and lacks actin binding, instead possessing a RING domain in the Cterminal region (15). Overexpression of MIR abrogated neurite outgrowth in PC12 cells, an effect that may be brought about by its interaction with the myosin regulatory light chain (MRLC). We describe here a novel protein interacting with MIR, called MIR-interacting saposin-like protein (MSAP), which stimulates neurite outgrowth. Sequence comparisons showed that MSAP contains a saposin domain, which is found, among others, in the sphingolipid activator proteins, the saposins (16), and in some saposin-like proteins with a similar structure (17). The effects of MSAP on neurite outgrowth were reduced by MIR. MIR was shown to induce a decrease in the levels of MRLC, which could be blocked by overexpression of MSAP or by inhibition of proteasome activity. Evidence was obtained that the decrease in MRLC levels by MIR invo...