title: Rab GTPases: master regulators of membrane trafficking.
abstract: Rab GTPases are thought to be likely to catalyze the accurate association of pairs of targeting molecules located on the surfaces of transport vesicles with their corresponding membrane acceptors. Advances during the past year have solidified our understanding of the mechanisms by which Rab proteins are recruited onto nascent transport vesicles and retrieved from their fusion targets. Functional analyses of Rab proteins in living cells have led to the surprising observation that vesicles do not seem to form if the appropriate Rab protein, in its GTP-bound conformation, is not present.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University School of Medicine, CA 94305-5307.
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Pfeffer
mesh_terms: D019883:Alkyl and Aryl Transferases; D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport / Q000502:physiology; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D020558:GTP Phosphohydrolases / Q000378:metabolism*; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D008566:Membranes / Q000378:metabolism; D009842:Oligopeptides / Q000378:metabolism*; D017368:Protein Prenylation / Q000502:physiology; D020691:rab GTP-Binding Proteins
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D009842:Oligopeptides; D019883:Alkyl and Aryl Transferases; D020558:GTP Phosphohydrolases; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins; D020691:rab GTP-Binding Proteins