Caviglia Sara, Flores-Benitez David, Lattner Johanna, Luschnig Stefan, Brankatschk Marko
a Danish Stem Cell Center (DanStem), University of Copenhagen , Copenhagen , Denmark.
c Institute of Molecular Life Sciences and Ph.D. Program in Molecular Life Sciences, University of Zurich , Zurich , Switzerland.
Small GTPases. 2019 Mar;10(2):89-98. doi: 10.1080/21541248.2017.1279725. Epub 2017 Feb 17.
The organization of intracellular transport processes is adapted specifically to different cell types, developmental stages, and physiologic requirements. Some protein traffic routes are universal to all cells and constitutively active, while other routes are cell-type specific, transient, and induced under particular conditions only. Small GTPases of the Rab (Ras related in brain) subfamily are conserved across eukaryotes and regulate most intracellular transit pathways. The complete sets of Rab proteins have been identified in model organisms, and molecular principles underlying Rab functions have been uncovered. Rabs provide intracellular landmarks that define intracellular transport sequences. Nevertheless, it remains a challenge to systematically map the subcellular distribution of all Rabs and their functional interrelations. This task requires novel tools to precisely describe and manipulate the Rab machinery in vivo. Here we discuss recent findings about Rab roles during development and we consider novel approaches to investigate Rab functions in vivo.
细胞内运输过程的组织方式是专门针对不同的细胞类型、发育阶段和生理需求进行调整的。一些蛋白质运输途径对所有细胞都是通用的，并且持续活跃，而其他途径则是细胞类型特异性的、短暂的，并且仅在特定条件下被诱导。Rab（与脑中的Ras相关）亚家族的小GTP酶在真核生物中是保守的，并调节大多数细胞内运输途径。在模式生物中已经鉴定出完整的Rab蛋白集，并且已经揭示了Rab功能的分子原理。Rab提供了定义细胞内运输序列的细胞内标志物。然而，系统地绘制所有Rab的亚细胞分布及其功能相互关系仍然是一项挑战。这项任务需要新的工具来在体内精确描述和操纵Rab机制。在这里，我们讨论了关于Rab在发育过程中作用的最新发现，并考虑了在体内研究Rab功能的新方法。
