title: Characterization of proteins that interact with the cell-cycle regulatory protein Ran/TC4.
abstract: The human Ras-related nuclear protein Ran/TC4 (refs 1-4) is the prototype of a well conserved family of GTPases that can regulate both cell-cycle progression and messenger RNA transport. Ran has been proposed to undergo tightly controlled cycles of GTP binding and hydrolysis, to operate as a GTPase switch whose GTP- and GDP-bound forms interact differentially with regulators and effectors. One known regulator, the protein RCC1 (refs 12, 13), interacts with Ran to catalyse guanine nucleotide exchange, and both RCC1 and Ran are components of an intrinsic checkpoint control that prevents the premature initiation of mitosis. To test and extend the GTPase-switch model, we searched for a Ran-specific GTPase-activating protein (GAP), and for putative effectors (proteins that interact specifically with Ran/TC4-GTP). We report here the identification of a Ran GAP and its use to characterize the GTP-hydrolysing properties of mutant Ran proteins, and the identification and cloning of a binding protein specific for Ran/TC4-GTP.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, NYU Medical Center, New York 10016.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Coutavas
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Oppenheim
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: D'Eustachio
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Rush
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000502:physiology*; D003062:Codon; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D020690:GTPase-Activating Proteins; D011905:Genes, ras; D006160:Guanosine Triphosphate / Q000378:metabolism; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000378:metabolism*; D011506:Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D009418:S100 Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D012568:Schizosaccharomyces / Q000378:metabolism; D014981:Xenopus; D020931:ran GTP-Binding Protein; D020703:ras GTPase-Activating Proteins
chemical_list: D003062:Codon; D020690:GTPase-Activating Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D011506:Proteins; D009418:S100 Proteins; D020703:ras GTPase-Activating Proteins; D006160:Guanosine Triphosphate; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins; D020931:ran GTP-Binding Protein