Paxillin is a focal adhesion-associated, phosphotyrosinecontaining protein that may play a role in several signaling pathways. Paxillin contains a number of motifs that mediate protein ± protein interactions, including LD motifs, LIM domains, an SH3 domain-binding site and SH2 domain-binding sites. These motifs serve as docking sites for cytoskeletal proteins, tyrosine kinases, serine/ threonine kinases, GTPase activating proteins and other adaptor proteins that recruit additional enzymes into complex with paxillin. Thus paxillin itself serves as a docking protein to recruit signaling molecules to a speci®c cellular compartment, the focal adhesions, and/ or to recruit speci®c combinations of signaling molecules into a complex to coordinate downstream signaling. The biological function of paxillin coordinated signaling is likely to regulate cell spreading and motility. Oncogene (2001) 20, 6459 ± 6472.