Rab37 is a novel mast cell specific GTPase localized to secretory granules.
GTPases regulate a myriad of cellular functions including signal transduction, cytoskeletal organization and membrane trafficking. Rab GTPases act to coordinate the membrane dynamics of cells by organizing and regulating the activity of effector proteins important in vesicle trafficking. Rab37 is a novel Rab GTPase specifically expressed in the MC-9 mast cell line and bone marrow mast cells. Rab37 is 74% identical to Rab26 and 47% identical to Rab8, a GTPase important in Golgi to plasma membrane vesicle trafficking in mammalian cells. When green fluorescent protein tagged Rab37 is expressed in bone marrow mast cells, the secretory granules are labeled. These data suggest that Rab37 may play an important role in mast cell degranulation making this protein a potentially important target for therapeutic intervention in the treatment of allergy.
Masuda
E S
ES
Rigel Inc., 240 East Grand Avenue, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA. emasuda@rigel.com
Luo
Y
Y
Young
C
C
Shen
M
M
Rossi
A B
AB
Huang
B C
BC
Yu
S
S
Bennett
M K
MK
Payan
D G
DG
Scheller
R H
RH
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002460:Cell Line; D002461:Cell Line, Transformed; D003594:Cytoplasmic Granules / Q000201:enzymology*; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D020558:GTP Phosphohydrolases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008407:Mast Cells / Q000201:enzymology*; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D020691:rab GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
D018076:DNA, Complementary; D020558:GTP Phosphohydrolases; C571080:Rab37 protein, human; C407127:Rab37 protein, mouse; D020691:rab GTP-Binding Proteins