• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.177-184
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• 2019

Mutations in leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) are the most common genetic cause of Parkinson's disease (PD). LRRK2 contains a functional kinase and GTPase domains. A pathogenic G2019S mutation that is the most prevalent among the LRRK2 mutations and is also found in sporadic cases, increases its kinase activity. Therefore, identification of LRRK2 kinase substrates and the development of kinase inhibitors are under intensive investigation to find PD therapeutics. Several recent studies have suggested members of Rab proteins, a branch of the GTPase superfamily, as LRRK2 kinase substrates. Rab proteins are key regulators of cellular vesicle trafficking. Among more than 60 members of human Rab proteins, Rab3, Rab5, Rab8, Rab10, Rab12, Rab29, Rab35, and Rab43 have been identified as LRRK2 kinase substrates. However, most studies have used human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293T cells overexpressing LRRK2/Rab proteins or murine embryonic fibroblast (MEF) cells which are not relevant to PD, rather than neuronal cells. In this study, we tested whether Rab proteins are phosphorylated by LRRK2 in astroglia in addition to neurons. Among the various Rab substrates, we tested phosphorylation of Rab10, because of the commercial availability and credibility of the phospho-Rab10 (pRab10) antibody, in combination with a specific LRRK2 kinase inhibitor. Based on the results of specific LRRK2 kinase inhibitor treatment, we concluded that LRRK2 phosphorylates Rab10 in the tested brain cells such as primary neurons, astrocytes and BV2 microglial cells.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.12 no.7
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• pp.3096-3102
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• 2011

Vanilloid receptor, TRPV1 (transient receptor potential vanilloid 1) is a non-selective cation channel that responds to a variety of pain-eliciting material including capsaicin, pH, heat. Although, membrane trafficking of TRPV1 was not much known so far, TRPV1 was reported to interact with FIP3 (family of Rab11 interacting protein 3). FIP3 was identified as one of Rab11 interacting proteins that is recently reported important in membrane trafficking of several channel proteins directly or indirectly. Therefore, in this study, we examined the role of Rab11 in the membrane trafficking of TRPV1 using cell biological and biochemical techniques. Rab11 was found really colocalized with TRPV1 based on the result of confocal microscopy. However, GST-pulldown assay, one of biochemical technique, found that Rab11 did not interact with TRPV1. Although Rab11 does not interact with TRPV1 directly, we hypothesized that Rab11 is indeed involved in the membrane trafficking of TRPV1. In order to examine further the role of Rab11 in the membrane trafficking of TRPV1, the expression of TRPV1 on the membrane was examined when the expression of Rab11 was decreased down to about 50% by siRNA technique and found decreased significantly. From this result, we can conclude that Rab11 is involved in the membrane trafficking of TRPV1 in a way of including FIP3.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.312-317
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• 2011

Vanilloid receptor TRPV1 (known as capsaicin channel, transient receptor potential vanilloid 1) is known to be a key protein in the pain signal transduction. However, the proteins controlling the activity of the channel are not much known yet. Recently mouse Rab11-FIP3 (Rab11-family interaction protein 3) was found and reported to interact with rat TRPV1. Rab11 has been shown to play a key role in a variety of cellular processes including plasma membrane recycling, phagocytosis, and transport of secretory proteins from the trans-Golgi network. Therefore, Rab11-FIP3 was proposed to be involved in the membrane trafficking of TRPV1. In this study, the unreported rat Rab11-FIP3 was yet cloned in order to show the specific interaction of the TRPV1 and Rab11-FIP3 in the same species of rat and to examine the membrane trafficking of TRPV1. The result showed that rat Rab11-FIP3 is expected to have 489 amino acids and showed 80% identity with that of human and over 90% identity with that of mouse. Rab11-FIP3 was found to be expressed in heart, brain, kidney, testis using northern and western blot analyses. We also found that rat Rab11-FIP3 was colocalized with rat TRPV1 but not with TRPV2 of same family in the rat brain by using immunohistochemistry showing that two proteins interact specifically, suggesting the role of Rab11-FIP3 in the membrane trafficking.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.99-107
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• 2015

Despite its economic importance as an aquaculture species, the molecular and genetic information regarding physiologically important elements in rock bream (Oplegnathus fasciatus) is not completely understood. Rab proteins play a vital role in cellular mechanisms and immunity as one of the key regulators of membrane trafficking. In this investigation, a Rab gene, named as RbRab-5C-like, was identified from Oplegnathus fasciatus. RbRab-5C-like protein exhibited high homology with Rab proteins of other species and possessed signature characteristics of Rab proteins with four conserved cysteine residues. Phylogenetic analysis showed that RbRab-5C-like clustered with other fish counterparts. The RbRab-5C-like genomic sequence possesses six exons and five introns. Transcriptional analysis revealed that RbRab-5C-like was ubiquitously expressed in all examined tissues with the highest expression occurring in the liver. While the structural and homologic characteristics of RbRab-5C-like suggest a strong conservation of this element in different species, its mRNA distribution implies a wide range of biological significance in rock bream.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.64 no.6
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• pp.1024-1034
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• 2022

Identifying effective biomarkers for the diagnosis of male fertility is crucial for improving animal production and treating male infertility in humans. Ras-related proteins (Rab) are associated with morphological and motion kinematic functions in spermatozoa. Moreover, Rab2A, a Rab protein, is a possible male fertility-related biomarker. The present study was designed to identify additional fertility-related biomarkers among the various Rab proteins. First, the expression of Rab proteins (Rab3A, 4, 5, 8A, 9, 14, 25, 27A, and 34A) from 31 duroc boar spermatozoa was measured before and after capacitation; correlation between Rab protein expression and litter size was evaluated by statistical analysis. The results showed that the expression of Rab3A, 4, 5, 8A, 9, and 25 before capacitation and Rab3A, 4, 5, 8A, 9, and 14 after capacitation were negatively correlated with litter size. Moreover, depending on the cutoff values calculated by receiver operating curves, an increase in litter size was observed when evaluating the ability of the Rab proteins to forecast litter size. Therefore, we suggest that Rab proteins may be potential fertility-related biomarkers that could help select superior sires in the livestock industry.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.553-561
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• 2019

Rab25, a member of the Rab11 small GTPase family, is central to achieving cellular polarity in epithelial tissues. Rab25 is highly expressed in epithelial cells of various tissues including breast, vagina, cervix, the gastrointestinal tract, and skin. Rab25 plays key roles in tumorigenesis, mainly by regulating epithelial differentiation and proliferation. However, its role in skin physiology is relatively unknown. In this study, we demonstrated that Rab25 knock-out (KO) mice show a skin barrier dysfunction with high trans-epidermal water loss and low cutaneous hydration. To examine this observation, we investigated the histology and epidermal differentiation markers of the skin in Rab25 KO mice. Rab25 KO increased cell proliferation at the basal layer of epidermis, whereas the supra-basal layer remained unaffected. Ceramide, which is a critical lipid component for skin barrier function, was not altered by Rab25 KO in its distribution or amount, as determined by immunohistochemistry. Notably, levels of epidermal differentiation markers, including loricrin, involucrin, and keratins (5, 14, 1, and 10) increased prominently in Rab25 KO mice. In line with this, depletion of Rab25 with single hairpin RNA increased the expression of differentiation markers in a human keratinocyte cell line, HaCaT. Transcriptomic analysis of the skin revealed increased expression of genes associated with skin development, epidermal development, and keratinocyte differentiation in Rab25 KO mice. Collectively, these results suggested that Rab25 is involved in the regulation of epidermal differentiation and proliferation.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.157-165
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• 2023

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most aggressive subtype of breast cancer and current therapeutic strategies are limited in their effectiveness. The expressions of Rab5 and the M2 tumor-associated macrophage marker CD163 in tissues were detected by Western blot. The migration and invasion of cells were determined using a Transwell assay. The expressions of the exosome markers were evaluated by Western blot. The polarization of human macrophages (THP-1) was determined by incubation of THP-1 cells with conditioned medium or exosomes collected from MDA-MB-231 cells with indicated transfections or by a coculture system of THP-1 and MDA-MB-231 cells. The M1 and M2 macrophage markers were evaluated by qRT-PCR. The expression of Rab5 in TNBC was significantly higher than that in normal breast tissue. Rab5 expressions in triple-negative and luminal A breast cancer were higher than those in other molecular subtypes. Higher CD163 expression was observed in triple-negative breast cancer and in triple-negative and luminal B subtypes. Rab5 knockdown suppressed but Rab5 overexpression promoted the migration and invasion capacity of MDA-MB-231 cells. The levels of CD63 and CD9 in the medium of Rab5 knockdown cells were lower than those in control cells, whereas higher levels of CD63 and CD9 were observed in Rab5 overexpression cells. Rab5 knockdown decreased the excretion but did not alter the diameter of the exosomes. Knockdown of Rab5 facilitated the anti-tumor polarization of macrophages, which was partially reversed by Rab5 overexpression. Therefore, Rab5 is expected to be a potential therapeutic target for triple-negative breast cancer.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.278-281
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• 2012

Not much is known about the membrane trafficking of TRPV1, a key player in pain transduction. Rab11-FIP3, which plays a role in various intracellular transportation pathways, has been reported to interact with TRPV1. In this study, in order to examine the role of Rab11-FIP3 in the membrane trafficking of TRPV1, Rab11-FIP3 expression in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) was inhibited using a siRNA technique. Transportation of TRPV1 to membranes was found to decrease when Rab11-FIP3 expression was inhibited, consistent with the results obtained with TRPV1-transfected HEK cells. Taken together, these results indicate that Rab11-FIP3 plays a role in the membrane trafficking of TRPV1.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.13-19
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• 2024

Ras-related (Rab) proteins, integral members of the monomeric G-protein family, play a pivotal role in regulating intracellular vesicular transport. These proteins contribute to male reproductive processes, specifically in acrosome formation, exocytosis, and sperm motility. Although a prior study indicated a correlation between Rab3A and sperm motility, including motion kinematic parameters such as mean dance, this association has only been explored within a limited sample size. Therefore, further verification is required to confirm the correlation between Rab3A and sperm motility parameters. In the present study, Rab3A expression, sperm motility, and motion kinematic parameters were analyzed in 150 boar spermatozoa. Additionally, correlations between Rab3A expression and sperm kinematic characteristics were evaluated statistically. The results revealed significant associations between Rab3A protein expression levels and various motion kinematic parameters. Specifically, Rab3A levels exhibited positive correlations with average path velocity (p<0.05), mean amplitude of lateral head displacement (p<0.05), and curvilinear velocity (p<0.01). Consequently, it is proposed that Rab3A protein plays a crucial role in male fertility through its correlation with sperm kinematic characteristics, making it a potential marker for sperm motility-related assessments.

• Journal of Plant Biology
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.85-92
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• 1996

Small GTP-binding proteins are divided into three major group: Ras, Rho and Ypt/Rab. They have the conserved regions designed G1 to G5 that are critical in GDP/GTP exchange, GTP-induced conformational change and GTP hydrolysis. We isolated and characterized genomic DNA or cDNAfragments encoding G1 to G3 domains of small GTP-binding protein Rab and Rho from several plant species using two different PCR-based cloning strategies. Seven rab DNA fragments were isolated from 4 different plants, mung-bean, tobacco, rice and pepper using two degenerate primers corresponding to the GTP-binding domain G1 and G3 in small GTP-binding proteins. The amino acid sequences among these rab DNA fragments and other known small GTP-binding proteins shows that they belong to the Ypt/Rab family. Six rho DNA fragments were isolated from 5 different plants, mung-bean, rice, Arabidopsis, Allium and Gonyaulax using the nested PCR method that involves four degenerate primers corresponding to the GTP-binding domain G1, G3 and G4. The rho DNA fragments cloned show more than 90% homology to each other. Sequence comparison between plant and other known Rho family genes suggests that they are closely related (67 to 82% amino acid identity). Sequence analysis and southern blot analysis of rab and rho in mung-bean suggest than thses genes are encoded by multigene family in mung-bean.