Rho-Family Small GTPases: From Highly Polarized Sensory Neurons to Cancer Cells.
Takehiko UeyamaPublished in: Cells (2019)
The small GTPases of the Rho-family (Rho-family GTPases) have various physiological functions, including cytoskeletal regulation, cell polarity establishment, cell proliferation and motility, transcription, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and tumorigenesis. A relatively large number of downstream targets of Rho-family GTPases have been reported for in vitro studies. However, only a small number of signal pathways have been established at the in vivo level. Cumulative evidence for the functions of Rho-family GTPases has been reported for in vivo studies using genetically engineered mouse models. It was based on different cell- and tissue-specific conditional genes targeting mice. In this review, we introduce recent advances in in vivo studies, including human patient trials on Rho-family GTPases, focusing on highly polarized sensory organs, such as the cochlea, which is the primary hearing organ, host defenses involving reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and tumorigenesis (especially associated with RAC, novel RAC1-GSPT1 signaling, RHOA, and RHOBTB2).
Keyphrases
- reactive oxygen species
- protein kinase
- cell proliferation
- smooth muscle
- endothelial cells
- dna damage
- cell therapy
- case control
- mouse model
- transcription factor
- oxidative stress
- case report
- gene expression
- genome wide
- cell cycle
- signaling pathway
- dna methylation
- biofilm formation
- cystic fibrosis
- cell migration
- cancer therapy