October 26, 2004
Research on a family of enzymes called Rho GTPases has emerged over the past few years as one of the hottest and most promising areas of cell biology. This interest stems from the ability of these enzymes to help regulate a number of activities that are basic to our cells, such as movement, adhesion, changes in cell shape, and the control of genes involved in growth. Although researchers have learned a great deal in general about where these enzymes bind to switch on these processes, they still know little about the precise molecular interactions that are involved. As published online recently in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, a team of NIDCR researchers has filled in some important new molecular details about the structural requirements for these interactions.