Rho and Rac take center stage

Keith Burridge, Krister Wennerberg

1451 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Many features of cell behavior are regulated by Rho family GTPases, but the most profound effects of these proteins are on the actin cytoskeleton and it was these that first drew attention to this family of signaling proteins. Focusing on Rho and Rac, we will discuss how their effectors regulate the actin cytoskeleton. We will describe how the activity of Rho proteins is regulated downstream from growth factor receptors and cell adhesion molecules by guanine nucleotide exchange factors and GTPase activating proteins. Additionally, we will discuss how there is signaling crosstalk between family members and how various bacterial pathogens have developed strategies to manipulate Rho protein activity so as to enhance their own survival.

Original languageEnglish
JournalCell
Volume116
Issue number2
Pages (from-to)167-79
Number of pages13
ISSN0092-8674
Publication statusPublished - 23 Jan 2004
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Actins/metabolism
  • Animals
  • Bacterial Proteins/physiology
  • Cell Adhesion
  • Cell Membrane/metabolism
  • Cytoskeleton/metabolism
  • GTP Phosphohydrolases/metabolism
  • Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors/metabolism
  • Humans
  • Integrins/metabolism
  • Models, Biological
  • Phylogeny
  • Receptors, Growth Factor/metabolism
  • Signal Transduction
  • rac GTP-Binding Proteins/physiology
  • rho GTP-Binding Proteins/physiology

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