The Rho family of GTPases is a family of small signaling G proteins, and is a subfamily of the Ras superfamily. The members of the Rho GTPase family have been shown to regulate many aspects of intracellular actin dynamics, and are found in all eukaryotic kingdoms, including yeasts and some plants. Three members of the family have been studied in detail: Cdc42, Rac1, and RhoA. All G proteins are "molecular switches", and Rho proteins play a role in organelle development, cytoskeletal dynamics, cell movement, and other common cellular functions.
Cell division control protein 42 homolog is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CDC42 gene. Cdc42 is involved in regulation of the cell cycle. It was originally identified in S. cerevisiae (yeast) as a mediator of cell division, and is now known to influence a variety of signaling events and cellular processes in a variety of organisms from yeast to mammals.
Rac1, also known as Ras-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate 1, is a protein found in human cells. It is encoded by the RAC1 gene. This gene can produce a variety of alternatively spliced versions of the Rac1 protein, which appear to carry out different functions.
Transforming protein RhoA, also known as Ras homolog family member A (RhoA), is a small GTPase protein in the Rho family of GTPases that in humans is encoded by the RHOA gene. While the effects of RhoA activity are not all well known, it is primarily associated with cytoskeleton regulation, mostly actin stress fibers formation and actomyosin contractility. It acts upon several effectors. Among them, ROCK1 and DIAPH1 are the best described. RhoA, and the other Rho GTPases, are part of a larger family of related proteins known as the Ras superfamily, a family of proteins involved in the regulation and timing of cell division. RhoA is one of the oldest Rho GTPases, with homologues present in the genomes since 1.5 billion years. As a consequence, RhoA is somehow involved in many cellular processes which emerged throughout evolution. RhoA specifically is regarded as a prominent regulatory factor in other functions such as the regulation of cytoskeletal dynamics, transcription, cell cycle progression and cell transformation.
ROCK1 is a protein serine/threonine kinase also known as rho-associated, coiled-coil-containing protein kinase 1. Other common names are ROKβ and P160ROCK. ROCK1 is a major downstream effector of the small GTPase RhoA and is a regulator of the actomyosin cytoskeleton which promotes contractile force generation. ROCK1 plays a role in cancer and in particular cell motility, metastasis, and angiogenesis.
Ras-related protein Rap-1A is a protein that in humans is encoded by the RAP1A gene.
Ras-related protein Ral-A (RalA) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the RALA gene on chromosome 7. This protein is one of two paralogs of the Ral protein, the other being RalB, and part of the Ras GTPase family. RalA functions as a molecular switch to activate a number of biological processes, majorly cell division and transport, via signaling pathways. Its biological role thus implicates it in many cancers.
RhoG is a small monomeric GTP-binding protein, and is an important component of many intracellular signalling pathways. It is a member of the Rac subfamily of the Rho family of small G proteins and is encoded by the gene RHOG.
Citron Rho-interacting kinase is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the CIT gene.
Rnd1 is a small signaling G protein, and is a member of the Rnd subgroup of the Rho family of GTPases. It is encoded by the gene RND1.
Rho GTPase-activating protein 5 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ARHGAP5 gene.
RhoD is a small signaling G protein, and is a member of the Rac subfamily of the family Rho family of GTPases. It is encoded by the gene RHOD.
Rnd2 is a small signaling G protein, and is a member of the Rnd subgroup of the Rho family of GTPases. It is encoded by the gene RND2.
RhoH is a small signaling G protein, and is a member of the Rac subfamily of the family Rho family of GTPases. It is encoded by the gene RHOH.
Rac is a subfamily of the Rho family of GTPases, small signaling G proteins. Just as other G proteins, Rac acts as a molecular switch, remaining inactive while bound to GDP and activated once GEFs remove GDP, permitting GTP to bind. When bound to GTP, Rac is activated. In its activated state, Rac participates in the regulation of cell movement, through its involvement in structural changes to the actin Cytoskeleton. By changing the cytoskeletal dynamics within the cell, Rac-GTPases are able to facilitate the recruitment of neutrophils to the infected tissues, and to regulate degranulation of azurophil and integrin-dependent phagocytosis.
UBX domain-containing protein 11 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the UBXN11 gene.
Guanine nucleotide-binding protein subunit alpha-12 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the GNA12 gene.
Rho-associated protein kinase (ROCK) is a kinase belonging to the AGC family of serine-threonine specific protein kinases. It is involved mainly in regulating the shape and movement of cells by acting on the cytoskeleton.
Alan Hall FRS was a British cell biologist and a biology professor at the Sloan-Kettering Institute, where he was chair of the Cell Biology program. Hall was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1999.
Pleckstrin homology domain containing, family G member 2 (PLEKHG2) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the PLEKHG2 gene. It is sometimes written as ARHGEF42, FLJ00018.
