Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2012 Aug;12(4):458-63.
doi: 10.1016/j.coph.2012.02.003. Epub 2012 Mar 7.

Ras family of small GTPases in immunity and inflammation

Derek S Johnson  1 , Youhai H Chen
Affiliations
Review

Ras family of small GTPases in immunity and inflammation

Derek S Johnson et al. Curr Opin Pharmacol. 2012 Aug.

Abstract

The Ras superfamily of small GTPases is a group of more than 150 small G proteins, all of which share some degree of homology to the founding member Ras. These small GTPases function as molecular switches within cells, impacting nearly all cellular processes. The Ras superfamily can be further divided into several smaller subfamilies, with those proteins that most closely resemble Ras belonging to the Ras subfamily. While heavily studied within the field of cancer biology, the Ras family of proteins also plays cardinal roles in immunity and inflammation. Here we review the roles of these molecular switches in regulating immune cell homeostasis and functions.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Overview of GTPase signaling
Small GTPase is “off” when bound to GDP; a GEF then removes GDP and allows GTP to bind to the GTPase, turning it “on”. All GTPases can eventually hydrolyze GTP to GDP and turn themselves off, though GAPs rapidly accelerate this process.
Figure 2
Figure 2. The Ras Superfamily
The Ras superfamily is broken down into 6 families, each listed with their primary functions.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Overview of Ras Signaling
Ras signaling pathway is highlighted in Red. The Ral signaling segment of the Ras pathway is additionally marked in Green.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Donahue AC, Fruman DA. Leukocyte signaling Distinct signaling mechanisms activate the target of rapamycin in response to different B-cell stimuli. Euroean Journal of Immunology. 2007;37:2923–2936. - PubMed
    1. Holmstro TH, Schmitz I, So TS, Poukkula M, Johnson VL, Chow SC, Krammer PH, Eriksson JE. MAPK/ERK signaling in activated T cells inhibits CD95/Fas-mediated apoptosis downstream of DISC assembly. EMBO Journal. 2000;19:5418–5428. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Tsukamoto N, Hattori M, Yang H, Bos JL, Minato N. Rap1 GTPase-activating Protein SPA-1 Negatively Regulates Cell Adhesion. The Journal of biological chemistry. 1999;274:18463–18469. - PubMed
    1. Koike T, Yamagishi H, Hatanaka Y, Fukushima A, Chang J-wen, Xia Y, Fields M, Chandler P, Iwashima M. A Novel ERK-dependent Signaling Process That Regulates Interleukin-2 Expression in a Late Phase of T Cell Activation. The Journal of biological chemistry. 2003;278:15685–15692. - PubMed
    1. Marko AJ, Miller RA, Kelman A, Frauwirth KA. Induction of Glucose Metabolism in Stimulated T Lymphocytes Is Regulated by Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Signaling. PloS one. 2010;5:e15425. Identifies ERK as a key component required for glucose metabolism in T Cells. Provides insight into the role played by both CD28 and TCR in important metabolic events within T cells, and how they cooperate to allow a T cell to become fully active. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms