Cell motility: The necessity of Rac1 GDP/GTP flux

Abstract

The Ras proto-oncogenic proteins, prototypes of the small GTPases, work as molecular switches: they are active when bound to GTP and inactive when bound to GDP. A variety of evidence suggested that the Ras paradigm is not fully valid for the Rho-family of small GTPases. Indeed, permanent activation is not sufficient but it is rather the continuous oscillation between the GDP-bound and GTP-bound conformations (namely the GDP/GTP cycling or GTPase flux), that is required for Rho-GTPases to perform their biological functions and properly coordinate actin cytoskeleton reorganization. In our recent study, we show that Rac1 needs to cycle between the GDP and GTP states in order to efficiently control cell motility. Similarly, it was previously reported that GDP/GTP cycling is required by RhoA for cytokinesis and by Cdc42 for cell polarization. The future challenge is to understand why the GTPase flux is so important for the biological actions of Rho GTPases.

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