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Rho GTPase activity zones and transient contractile arrays
Author(s) -
Bement William M.,
Miller Ann L.,
von Dassow George
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
bioessays
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.175
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1521-1878
pISSN - 0265-9247
DOI - 10.1002/bies.20477
Subject(s) - gtpase , cytokinesis , cdc42 , microbiology and biotechnology , small gtpase , cytoskeleton , actin cytoskeleton , biology , rab , gtp' , rac1 , actin , guanine nucleotide exchange factor , chemistry , biophysics , signal transduction , biochemistry , cell division , cell , enzyme
The Rho GTPases—Rho, Rac and Cdc42—act as molecular switches, cycling between an active GTP‐bound state and an inactive GDP‐bound state, to regulate the actin cytoskeleton. It has recently become apparent that the Rho GTPases can be activated in subcellular zones that appear semi‐stable, yet are dynamically maintained. These Rho GTPase activity zones are associated with a variety of fundamental biological processes including symmetric and asymmetric cytokinesis and cellular wound repair. Here we review the basic features of Rho GTPase activity zones, suggest that these zones represent a fundamental signaling mechanism, and discuss the implications of zone properties from the perspective of both their function and how they are likely to be controlled. BioEssays 28: 983–993, 2006. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.