title: Thematic review series: lipid posttranslational modifications. geranylgeranylation of Rab GTPases.
abstract: Rab GTPases require special machinery for protein prenylation, which include Rab escort protein (REP) and Rab geranylgeranyl transferase (RGGT). The current model of Rab geranylgeranylation proposes that REP binds Rab and presents it to RGGT. After geranylgeranylation of Rab C-terminal cysteines, REP delivers the prenylated protein to membranes. The REP-like protein Rab GDP dissociation inhibitor (RabGDI) then recycles the prenylated Rab between the membrane and the cytosol. The recent solution of crystal structures of the Rab prenylation machinery has helped to refine this model and provided further insights. The hydrophobic prenyl binding pocket of RGGT and geranylgeranyl transferase type-I (GGT-I) differs from that of farnesyl transferase (FT). A bulky tryptophan residue in FT restricts the size of the pocket, whereas in RGGT and GGT-I, this position is occupied by smaller residues. A highly conserved phenylalanine in REP, which is absent in RabGDI, is critical for the formation of the REP:RGGT complex. Finally, a geranylgeranyl binding site conserved in REP and RabGDI has been identified within helical domain II. The postprenylation events, including the specific targeting of Rabs to target membranes and the requirement for single versus double geranylgeranylation by different Rabs, remain obscure and should be the subject of future studies.
authors.affiliation: Molecular and Cellular Medicine, Division of Biomedical Sciences, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
authors.forename: Ka Fai
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.forename: Rudi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Baron
authors.forename: Miguel C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Seabra
mesh_terms: D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing; D019883:Alkyl and Aryl Transferases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D020730:Guanine Nucleotide Dissociation Inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008055:Lipids / Q000502:physiology*; D008954:Models, Biological; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017368:Protein Prenylation; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational / Q000502:physiology*; D020691:rab GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing; C081787:CHM protein, human; C086796:GDP dissociation inhibitor 1; D020730:Guanine Nucleotide Dissociation Inhibitors; D008055:Lipids; D019883:Alkyl and Aryl Transferases; C075607:Rab geranylgeranyltransferase; D020691:rab GTP-Binding Proteins