The Ras superfamily, derived from "Rat sarcoma virus", is a
protein superfamily
A protein superfamily is the largest grouping (clade) of proteins for which common ancestry can be inferred (see homology (biology), homology). Usually this common ancestry is inferred from structural alignment and mechanistic similarity, even if n ...
of
small GTPase
Small GTPases (), also known as small G-proteins, are a family of hydrolase enzymes that can bind and hydrolyze guanosine triphosphate (GTP). They are a type of G-protein found in the cytosol that are homologous to the alpha subunit of heterotr ...
s.
Members of the superfamily are divided into
families
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...
and subfamilies based on their structure, sequence and function. The five main families are Ras,
Rho
Rho (uppercase Ρ, lowercase ρ or ; el, ρο or el, ρω, label=none) is the 17th letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 100. It is derived from Phoenician letter res . Its uppercase form uses the sa ...
,
Ran
Ran, RaN and ran may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Ran'' (film), a 1985 film directed by Akira Kurosawa
* "Ran" (song), a 2013 Japanese song by Luna Sea
* '' Ran Online'', a 2004 MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role playing game)
* ...
,
Rab
Rab âːb( dlm, Arba, la, Arba, it, Arbe, german: Arbey) is an island in the northern Dalmatia region in Croatia, located just off the northern Croatian coast in the Adriatic Sea.
The island is long, has an area of and 9,328 inhabitants (2 ...
and
Arf
ARF may refer to:
Organizations
* Advertising Research Foundation
* Animal Rescue Foundation
* Armenian Revolutionary Federation
* ASEAN Regional Forum
People
* Cahit Arf (1910–1997), Turkish mathematician
Science, medicine, and mathematics
* ...
GTPases.
The Ras family itself is further divided into 6 subfamilies:
Ras
Ras or RAS may refer to:
Arts and media
* RAS Records Real Authentic Sound, a reggae record label
* Rundfunk Anstalt Südtirol, a south Tyrolese public broadcasting service
* Rás 1, an Icelandic radio station
* Rás 2, an Icelandic radio stati ...
,
Ral,
Rap
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
,
Rheb,
Rad
RAD or Rad may refer to:
People
* Robert Anthony Rad Dougall (born 1951), South African former racing driver
* Rad Hourani, Canadian fashion designer and artist
* Nickname of Leonardus Rad Kortenhorst (1886–1963), Dutch politician
* Radley R ...
and Rit. ''Miro'' is a recent contributor to the superfamily. Each subfamily shares the common core G domain, which provides essential GTPase and nucleotide exchange activity.
The surrounding sequence helps determine the functional specificity of the small GTPase, for example the 'Insert Loop', common to the Rho subfamily, specifically contributes to binding to effector proteins such as
WASP
A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. Th ...
.
In general, the Ras family is responsible for cell proliferation: Rho for cell
morphology
Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to:
Disciplines
* Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts
* Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies ...
, Ran for nuclear transport, and Rab and Arf for
vesicle
Vesicle may refer to:
; In cellular biology or chemistry
* Vesicle (biology and chemistry)
In cell biology, a vesicle is a structure within or outside a cell, consisting of liquid or cytoplasm enclosed by a lipid bilayer. Vesicles form nat ...
transport.
[
]
Subfamilies and members
The following is a list of human proteins belonging to the Ras superfamily:ARHGAP5
Rho GTPase-activating protein 5 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''ARHGAP5'' gene.
Function
Rho GTPase activating protein 5 negatively regulates RHO GTPases, a family that may mediate cytoskeleton changes by stimulating the hydrol ...
* DNAJC27
* GRLF1
* RASEF
Ras and EF-hand domain-containing protein also known as Ras-related protein Rab-45 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the RASEF gene.
The RASEF gene is located on chromosome 9 (9q21.32).
Introduction
RASEF belongs to the small GTPase ...
See also
* Ras subfamily
Ras, from "Rat sarcoma virus", is a family of related proteins that are expressed in all animal cell lineages and organs. All Ras protein family members belong to a class of protein called small GTPase, and are involved in transmitting signals ...
References
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G proteins
Protein superfamilies