Rabs grab motors: defining the connections between Rab GTPases and motor proteins

Rab GTPases and their effectors regulate membrane traffic by determining, along with cognate SNAREs, the specificity of transport vesicle docking and fusion steps. Recent studies have also implicated Rabs in the movement of these transport vesicles from their site of formation to their site of fusio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current Opinion in Cell Biology 2002-02, Vol.14 (1), p.69-75
Main Authors: Hammer, John A., Wu, Xufeng S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Actins - metabolism
Animals
Cytoskeleton - metabolism
Microtubules - metabolism
Models, Biological
Molecular Motor Proteins - metabolism
motor proteins
Rab
rab GTP-Binding Proteins - metabolism
rab GTP-Binding Proteins - physiology
Rab GTPases
SNARE
Transport Vesicles - metabolism
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Summary:Rab GTPases and their effectors regulate membrane traffic by determining, along with cognate SNAREs, the specificity of transport vesicle docking and fusion steps. Recent studies have also implicated Rabs in the movement of these transport vesicles from their site of formation to their site of fusion, and several Rabs have been linked to specific microtubule- or actin-based motor proteins. Analyses of Rab and motor protein mutants, coupled with advanced imaging techniques, have led to the suggestion that certain Rabs function as essential components of the vesicle receptor for specific motor proteins. Rab function is not limited to events that define the end of the transport vesicles life cycle. This review focuses on the role of Rab GTPases in the formation of transport vesicles and their motor protein-dependent movement on cytoskeletal tracks from sites of formation to sites of fusion.
ISSN:0955-0674
1879-0410
DOI:10.1016/S0955-0674(01)00296-4