Uri Han, Nara Han, Byeonggyu Park, Taeck Joong Jeon
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Ras small GTPases act as molecular switches in various cellular signaling pathways, including cell migration, proliferation, and differentiation. Three Rap proteins are present in Dictyostelium; RapA, RapB, and RapC. RapA and RapC have been reported to have opposing functions in the control of cell adhesion and migration. Here, we investigated the role of RapB, a member of the Ras GTPase subfamily in Dictyostelium, focusing on its involvement in cell adhesion, migration, and developmental processes. This study revealed that RapB, similar to RapA, played a crucial role in regulating cell morphology, adhesion, and migration. rapB null cells, which were generated by CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing, displayed altered cell size, reduced cell-substrate adhesion, and increased migration speed during chemotaxis. These phenotypes of rapB null cells were restored by the expression of RapB and RapA, but not RapC. Consistent with these results, RapB, similar to RapA, failed to rescue the phenotypes of rapC null cells, spread morphology, increased cell adhesion, and decreased migration speed during chemotaxis. Multicellular development of rapB null cells remained unaffected. These results suggest that RapB is involved in controlling cell morphology and cell adhesion. Importantly, RapB appears to play an inhibitory role in regulating the migration speed during chemotaxis, possibly by controlling cell-substrate adhesion, resembling the functions of RapA. These findings contribute to the understanding of the functional relationships among Ras subfamily proteins.
期刊介绍:
Publishes papers that deal with research on microorganisms, including archaea, bacteria, yeasts, fungi, microalgae, protozoa, and simple eukaryotic microorganisms. Topics considered for publication include Microbial Systematics, Evolutionary Microbiology, Microbial Ecology, Environmental Microbiology, Microbial Genetics, Genomics, Molecular Biology, Microbial Physiology, Biochemistry, Microbial Pathogenesis, Host-Microbe Interaction, Systems Microbiology, Synthetic Microbiology, Bioinformatics and Virology. Manuscripts dealing with simple identification of microorganism(s), cloning of a known gene and its expression in a microbial host, and clinical statistics will not be considered for publication by JM.