title: Regulating Rac in the nervous system: molecular function and disease implication of Rac GEFs and GAPs.
abstract: Rho family GTPases, including RhoA, Rac1, and Cdc42 as the most studied members, are master regulators of actin cytoskeletal organization. Rho GTPases control various aspects of the nervous system and are associated with a number of neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases. The activity of Rho GTPases is controlled by two families of regulators, guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) as the activators and GTPase-activating proteins (GAPs) as the inhibitors. Through coordinated regulation by GEFs and GAPs, Rho GTPases act as converging signaling molecules that convey different upstream signals in the nervous system. So far, more than 70 members of either GEFs or GAPs of Rho GTPases have been identified in mammals, but only a small subset of them have well-known functions. Thus, characterization of important GEFs and GAPs in the nervous system is crucial for the understanding of spatiotemporal dynamics of Rho GTPase activity in different neuronal functions. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of GEFs and GAPs for Rac1, with emphasis on the molecular function and disease implication of these regulators in the nervous system.
authors: JNU-HKUST Joint Laboratory for Neuroscience and Innovative Drug Research, Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510632, China.
authors: Yanyang
authors: Y
authors: Bai
authors: JNU-HKUST Joint Laboratory for Neuroscience and Innovative Drug Research, Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510632, China.
authors: Xiaoliang
authors: X
authors: Xiang
authors: JNU-HKUST Joint Laboratory for Neuroscience and Innovative Drug Research, Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510632, China.
authors: Chunmei
authors: C
authors: Liang
authors: JNU-HKUST Joint Laboratory for Neuroscience and Innovative Drug Research, Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510632, China.
authors: Lei
authors: 0000-0001-8695-3432
authors: L
authors: Shi
mesh_terms: D020690:GTPase-Activating Proteins / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D020662:Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D009420:Nervous System / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D020764:cdc42 GTP-Binding Protein; D020830:rac1 GTP-Binding Protein / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D020742:rhoA GTP-Binding Protein / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D020690:GTPase-Activating Proteins; D020662:Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors; C107953:RAC1 protein, human; C066737:RHOA protein, human; D020764:cdc42 GTP-Binding Protein; D020830:rac1 GTP-Binding Protein; D020742:rhoA GTP-Binding Protein