title: Low-molecular-weight GTP-binding proteins and leukocyte signal transduction.
abstract: Recent progress on the understanding of leukocyte signal transduction pathways indicates that many of these pathways are modulated by low-molecular-weight GTP-binding proteins (LMWGs). LMWGs are members of a growing family of GTP-binding proteins known as the Ras superfamily and act as molecular switches for regulating a wide range of signal-transduction pathways in virtually all cells. In leukocytes, LMWGs have been shown to participate in essential cellular functions such as growth control, differentiation, cytoskeletal organization, cytokine and chemoattractant-induced signaling events, reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase activity, phospholipid metabolism, and intracellular vesicle transport and secretion, and many more of these functions will certainly be identified as we gain a further understanding of regulatory pathways modulating leukocyte signal transduction. This review will summarize our current understanding of this rapidly advancing area of research.
authors.affiliation: Montana State University, Bozeman 59717, USA.
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Quinn
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000502:physiology; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000502:physiology; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D006160:Guanosine Triphosphate / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007152:Immunologic Capping; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000502:physiology*; D009247:NADH, NADPH Oxidoreductases / Q000378:metabolism; D019255:NADPH Oxidases; D016283:Proto-Oncogene Proteins p21(ras) / Q000502:physiology; D015398:Signal Transduction; D020744:rac GTP-Binding Proteins
chemical_list: D006160:Guanosine Triphosphate; D009247:NADH, NADPH Oxidoreductases; D019255:NADPH Oxidases; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins; C501009:HRAS protein, human; D016283:Proto-Oncogene Proteins p21(ras); D020744:rac GTP-Binding Proteins