This family consists of several enterobacterial IpgD like virulence factor proteins. In the Gram-negative pathogen Shigella flexneri, the virulence factor IpgD is translocated directly into eukaryotic cells and acts as a potent inositol 4-phosphatase that specifically dephosphorylates phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate [PtdIns(4,5)P(2)] into phosphatidylinositol 5-monophosphate [PtdIns(5)P] that then accumulates. Transformation of PtdIns(4,5)P(2) into PtdIns(5)P by IpgD is responsible for dramatic morphological changes of the host cell, leading to a decrease in membrane tether force associated with membrane blebbing and actin filament remodelling [1].

1: Conversion of PtdIns(4,5)P(2) into PtdIns(5)P by the S.flexneri effector IpgD reorganizes host cell morphology. Niebuhr K, Giuriato S, Pedron T, Philpott DJ, Gaits F, Sable J, Sheetz MP, Parsot C, Sansonetti PJ, Payrastre B; EMBO J 2002;21:5069-5078. PMID:12356723