Premium
Farnesylated proteins and cell cycle progression
Author(s) -
Tamanoi Fuyuhiko,
KatoStankiewicz Juran,
Jiang Chen,
Machado Iara,
Thapar Nitika
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of cellular biochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.028
H-Index - 165
eISSN - 1097-4644
pISSN - 0730-2312
DOI - 10.1002/jcb.10067
Subject(s) - microbiology and biotechnology , cell cycle , cell cycle progression , biology , computational biology , cell , genetics
Post‐translational modification of proteins by the addition of a farnesyl group is critical for the function of a number of proteins involved in signal transduction. Farnesylation facilitates their membrane association and also promotes protein–protein interaction. Recently, progress has been made in understanding the biological significance of farnesylation. First, effects of farnesyltransferase inhibitors (FTIs) on cancer cells have been examined using a variety of human cancer cells. This study showed that one of the major effects of FTIs is to alter cell cycle progression. Both G0/G1 enrichment and G2/M accumulation were observed depending on the cell line examined. Second, a number of novel farnesylated proteins have been characterized. Of these, Rheb and CENP‐E,F are of particular interest. Rheb, a novel member of the Ras superfamily G‐proteins, may play a role in the G1 phase of the cell cycle. CENP‐E,F are centromere associated motors that play critical roles in mitosis. These results suggest important contributions of farnesylated proteins in the regulation of cell cycle progression. J. Cell. Biochem. Suppl. 37: 64–70, 2001. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.