Rab8 1. General Function

Rab8 (Ras-related proteins in brain 8) is a 24 kDa protein that belongs to the small Rab GTPase family (7). Rab proteins are known for their participation in and regulation of intracellular membrane trafficking pathways (17, 46, 48). In their active GTP-bound state different Rab proteins bind to different membrane compartments and recruit specific effector proteins, which are not only involved in docking and fusion with the target membrane but also in the formation of transport vesicles and in binding motor proteins for vesicle transport (17, 18, 28, 45, 48).