BACKGROUND Rho GTPases are important members of the Ras superfamily, which represents the largest signaling protein family in eukaryotes, and function as key molecular switches in converting and amplifying external signals into cellular responses. Although numerous analyses of Rho family genes have been reported, including their functions and evolution, a systematic analysis of this family has ...

We study the pseudo-differential operator $$\begin{aligned} T_a f\left( x\right) =\int _{\mathbb {R}^n}e^{ix\cdot \xi }a\left( x,\xi \right) \widehat{f}\left( \,\text {d}\xi , \end{aligned}$$where symbol a is in Hörmander class \(S^{m}_{\rho ,1}\) or more generally rough \(L^{\infty }S^{m}_{\rho }\) with \(m\in \mathbb {R}\) and \(\rho \in [0,1]\). It known that \(T_a\) bounded on \(L^1(\mathbb...

Background. This paper investigates two issues: do ethnic/racial groups with high HIV prevalences also have higher prevalences of other STIs? and is HIV prevalence by ethnic group correlated with the prevalence of circumcision, concurrency, or having more than one partner in the preceding year? Methods. We used Spearman's correlation to estimate the association between the prevalence of HIV per...

Using biochemical assays to determine the activation state of Rho-like GTPases, we show that the guanine nucleotide exchange factor Tiam1 functions as a specific activator of Rac but not Cdc42 or Rho in NIH3T3 fibroblasts. Activation of Rac by Tiam1 induces an epithelial-like morphology with functional cadherin-based adhesions and inhibits migration of fibroblasts. This epithelial phenotype is ...

The rho 2 subunit, a novel GABA receptor subunit, has been cloned from a human retinal complementary DNA library. This subunit shares 74% amino acid sequence identity with the rho 1 subunit that forms homooligomeric bicuculline-, barbiturate-, and benzodiazepine-insensitive GABA receptors. The rho 2 subunit also forms homooligomeric GABA-activated chloride channels when expressed in Xenopus ooc...

We have recently demonstrated that inhibition of Rho GTPase with Clostridium difficile toxin B, or with Clostridium botulinum C3 toxin, causes actin depolymerization and translocation of aquaporin 2 (AQP2) in renal CD8 cells in the absence of hormonal stimulation. Here we demonstrate that Rho inhibition is part of the signal transduction cascade activated by vasopressin leading to AQP2 insertio...

In this study, a primitive progenitor cell, the blast-cell colony-forming cell (BC-CFC), which is thought by some to be equivalent to the hematopoietic stem cell (HSC), those cells capable of long-term marrow repopulation, has been isolated from normal murine marrow. The cell separation method we employed has, as its final step, the purification of marrow cells based on their ability to take up...

AIM Intrahepatic extension is the main cause of liver failure and death in hepatocellular carcinoma patients. The small GTPase Rho and one of its effector molecules ROCK regulate cytoskeleton and actomyosin contractility, and play a crucial role in cell adhesion and motility. We investigated the role of small GTPase Rho in biological behaviors of hepatocellular carcinoma to demonstrate the impo...

Clostridium difficile toxin B and Clostridium botulinum C3 exoenzyme caused comparable morphological alteration of CHO cells, which was accompanied by disaggregation of the microfilamental cytoskeleton. The cytotoxic effect of toxin B was correlated with a decrease in C3-catalyzed ADP-ribosylation of the low-molecular-mass GTP-binding protein Rho, which is involved in the regulation of the acti...