Rho proteins, including RhoA, Rac1 and Cdc42, are members of the Ras superfamily of monomeric GTP-binding proteins, which are well-known regulators of the cytoskeleton. Numerous studies have shown that an intact cytoskeleton is required for cell cycle progression through G1 phase as well as mitosis and cytokinesis. Because of their role in both cytoskeletal rearrangement and mitogenic signalin...

Ran is the only known member of the Ras superfamily of small GTP-binding proteins to be localized primarily inside the nucleus, and there is considerable evidence that Ran is closely involved in the traffic of macromolecules into and out of the nucleus [1,2]. Ran has been shown to be an essential factor for nuclear import in digitonin-permeabilized cells, and mutant forms of Ran inhibit both pr...

Serial Review Introduction to serial Reviews: the extracellular matrix I. J. F. Woessner, Jr 735 Multi-faceted regulationof cell differentiation by extracellularmatrix. C. 0. Lin and M. J. Bissell 737 State-of-the-Art Reviews Engineering proteins for nonnatural environments. F. H. Arnold 744 Emerging concepts in the Ras superfamily of GTP-binding proteins. G. M. Bokoch and C. J. Der 750 Site-sp...

Rab proteins constitute the largest family within the Ras superfamily of small GTPases (>60 in mammals) and are essential regulators of transport between intracellular organelles. Key to this activity is their targeting to specific compartments within the cell. However, although great strides have been made over the last 25 years in assigning functions to individual Rabs and identifying their d...

gene was identified; its full-length cDNA was cloned from a library and sequenced. The cDNA is a novel member of the Ras-superfamily and was named Dexras1 due to its ability to be induced by dexamethasone. Experiments are in progress to characterize the role of Dexras1 in the pituitary and in other steroid-responsive tissues. Overall, differential display was extremely useful in identification ...

gene was identified; its full-length cDNA was cloned from a library and sequenced. The cDNA is a novel member of the Ras-superfamily and was named Dexras1 due to its ability to be induced by dexamethasone. Experiments are in progress to characterize the role of Dexras1 in the pituitary and in other steroid-responsive tissues. Overall, differential display was extremely useful in identification ...

Rab proteins belong to the largest family of the Ras superfamily of small GTPase that play an important role in intracellular vesicular traffic. So far, almost 60 members of Rab family have been identified in mammalian cells. To further study the diversity and function of Rab protein in evolution, unicellular protozoa ciliates, Euplotes octocarinatus, were used in this study, Rab genes were scr...