• Journal of Life Science
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• v.28 no.9
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• pp.1100-1117
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• 2018

The Ras superfamily of small G-proteins acts as a molecular switch on the intracellular signaling pathway. Upon ligand stimulation, inactive GTPases (Ras-GDP) are activated (Ras-GTP) using guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) and transmit signals to their downstream effectors. Following signal transmission, active Ras-GTP become inactive Ras-GDP and cease signaling. However, the intrinsic GTPase activity of Ras proteins is weak, requiring Ras GTPase-activating protein (RasGAP) to efficiently convert RAS-GTP to Ras-GDP. Since deregulation of the Ras pathway is found in nearly 30% of all human cancers, it might be useful to clarify the structural and physiological roles of Ras GTPases. Recently, RasGAP has emerged as a new class of tumor-suppressor protein and a potential therapeutic target for cancer. Therefore, it is important to clarify the physiological roles of the individual GAPs in human diseases. The first RasGAP discovered was RASA1, also known as p120 RasGAP. RASA1 is widely expressed, independent of cell type and tissue distribution. Subsequently, neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) was discovered. The remaining GAPs are affiliated with the GAP1 and synaptic GAP (SynGAP) families. There are more than 170 Ras GTPases and 14 Ras GAP members in the human genome. This review focused on the current understanding of Ras GTPase and RasGAP in human diseases, including cancers.

• BMB Reports
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.95-101
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• 2001

Tissue transglutaminase (TGII, $G{\alpha}h$) belongs to a family of enzymes which catalyze post-translational modification of proteins by forming isopeptides via $Ca^{2+}$-dependent reaction. Although TGII-mediated formation of isopeptides has been implicated to play a role in a variety of cellular processes, the physiological function of TGII remains unclear. In addition to this Tease activity, TGII is a guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) which binds and hydrolyzes GTP It is now well recognized that the GTPase action of TGII regulates a receptor-mediated transmembrane signaling, functioning as a signal transducer of the receptor. This TGII function signifies that TGII is a new class of GTP-binding regulatory protein (G-protein) that differs from "Classical" heterotrimeric G-proteins. Regulation of enzyme is an important biological process for maintaining cell integrity. This review summarizes the recent development in regulation of TGII that may help for the better understanding of this unique enzyme. Since activation and inactivation of GTPase of TGII are similar to the heterotrimeric G-proteins, the regulation of heterotrimeric G-protein in the transmembrane signaling is also discussed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Life Science Conference
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• 2007.10a
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• pp.47.2-47.2
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• 2007

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• BMB Reports
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• v.41 no.9
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• pp.645-650
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• 2008

Nucleoside diphosphate kinase (NDPK) is involved in multiple signaling pathways in mammalian systems, including G-protein signaling. Arabidopsis NDPK2, like its mammalian counterparts, is multifunctional despite its initial discovery phytochrome-interacting protein. This similarity raises the possibility that NDPK2 may play a role in G-protein signaling in plants. In the present study, we explore the potential relationship between NDPK2 and the small G proteins, Pra2 and Pra3, as well as the heterotrimeric G protein, GPA1. We report a physical interaction between NDPK2 and these small G proteins, and demonstrate that NDPK2 can stimulate their GTPase activities. Our results suggest that NDPK2 acts as a GTPase-activating protein for small G proteins in plants. We propose that NDPK2 might be a missing link between the phytochrome-mediated light signaling and G protein-mediated signaling.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.655-660
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• 2012

The purpose of this study is to evaluate pungency-related factors of field garlic (FG) and rice paddy garlic (RG) from Youncheon province. Allicin, alliin, and S-allyl-L-cysteine (SAC) contents were analyzed by HPLC. In addition, activities of alliinase, GTPase (${\gamma}$-glutamyltranspeptidase), and pyruvate content of garlic were measured. The moisture content of RG (65.86%) was higher than that of FG (63.34%). However, crude lipid, crude protein, crude ash, and carbohydrate contents of RG were lower than those of FG. The alliin contents of FG and RG were 8.97 and 8.22 mg/g, respectively. The allicin content of FG (2.83 mg/g) was higher than that of RG (2.22 mg/g). Further, SAC content of FG (1.74 mg/g) was higher than that of RG (0.104 mg/g). Alliinase activities of FG and RG were similar, whereas the GTPase activity of FG was higher than that of RG. These results show that the stronger pungency of FG is due to the higher amount of alliin and SAC as well as the higher activity of GTPase compared to RG.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.109-114
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• 2007

Sar1p is a ras-related GTP-binding protein that functions in intracellular protein transport between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and the Golgi complex. The effector domain of Ras family proteins is highly conserved and this domain is functionally interchangeable in plant, yeast and mammalian Sar1. Using a recombinant Brassica sar1 protein (Bsar1p) harboring point mutations in its effector domain, we here investigated the ability of Sar1p to bind and hydrolyze GTP and to interact with the two sar1-specific regulators, GTPase activating protein (GAP) and guanine exchange factor (GEF). The T51A and T55A mutations impaired Bsar1p intrinsic GTP-binding and GDP-dissociation activity. In contrast, mutations in the switch domain of Bsar1 did not affect its intrinsic GTPase activity. Moreover, the P50A, P54A, and S56A mutations affected the interaction between Bsar1p and GAP. P54A mutant protein did not interact with two regulating proteins, GEF and GAP, even though the mutation didn't affect the intrinsic GTP-binding, nucleotide exchange or GTPase activity of Bsar1p.

• BMB Reports
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.233-244
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• 2010

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease, and 5-10% of the PD cases are genetically inherited as familial PD (FPD). LRRK2 (leucine-rich repeat kinase 2) was first reported in 2004 as a gene corresponding to PARK8, an autosomal gene whose dominant mutations cause familial PD. LRRK2 contains both active kinase and GTPase domains as well as protein-protein interaction motifs such as LRR (leucine-rich repeat) and WD40. Most pathogenic LRRK2 mutations are located in either the GTPase or kinase domain, implying important roles for the enzymatic activities in PD pathogenic mechanisms. In comparison to other PD causative genes such as parkin and PINK1, LRRK2 exhibits two important features. One is that LRRK2's mutations (especially the G2019S mutation) were observed in sporadic as well as familial PD patients. Another is that, among the various PD-causing genes, pathological characteristics observed in patients carrying LRRK2 mutations are the most similar to patients with sporadic PD. Because of these two observations, LRRK2 has been intensively investigated for its pathogenic mechanism (s) and as a target gene for PD therapeutics. In this review, the general biochemical and molecular features of LRRK2, the recent results of LRRK2 studies and LRRK2's therapeutic potential as a PD target gene will be discussed.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.48-58
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• 2023

Interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3) integrates both immunological and non-immunological inputs to control cell survival and death. Small GTPases are versatile functional switches that lie on the very upstream in signal transduction pathways, of which duration of activation is very transient. The large number of homologous proteins and the requirement for site-directed mutagenesis have hindered attempts to investigate the link between small GTPases and IRF3. Here, we constructed a constitutively active mutant expression library for small GTPase expression using Gibson assembly cloning. Small-scale screening identified multiple GTPases capable of promoting IRF3 phosphorylation. Intriguingly, 27 of 152 GTPases, including ARF1, RHEB, RHEBL1, and RAN, were found to increase IRF3 phosphorylation. Unbiased screening enabled us to investigate the sequence-activity relationship between the GTPases and IRF3. We found that the regulation of IRF3 by small GTPases was dependent on TBK1. Our work reveals the significant contribution of GTPases in IRF3 signaling and the potential role of IRF3 in GTPase function, providing a novel therapeutic approach against diseases with GTPase overexpression or active mutations, such as cancer.

• The Zoological Society Korea : Newsletter
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.12-19
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• 1998

• BMB Reports
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• v.49 no.11
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• pp.623-628
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• 2016

GPR78 is an orphan G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) that is predominantly expressed in human brain tissues. Currently, the function of GPR78 is unknown. This study revealed that GPR78 was expressed in lung cancer cells and functioned as a novel regulator of lung cancer cell migration and metastasis. We found that knockdown of GPR78 in lung cancer cells suppressed cell migration. Moreover, GPR78 modulated the formation of actin stress fibers in A549 cells, in a RhoA- and Rac1-dependent manner. At the molecular level, GPR78 regulated cell motility through the activation of $G{\alpha}q$-RhoA/Rac1 pathway. We further demonstrated that in vivo, the knockdown of GPR78 inhibited lung cancer cell metastasis. These findings suggest that GPR78 is a novel regulator for lung cancer metastasis and may serve as a potential drug target against metastatic human lung cancer.