Optogenetic modulation of guanine nucleotide exchange factors of Ras superfamily proteins directly controls cell shape and movement.

ABSTRACT: In this article, we provide detailed protocols on using optogenetic dimerizers to acutely perturb activities of guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) specific to Ras, Rac or Rho small GTPases of the migratory networks in various mammalian and amoeba cell lines. These GEFs are crucial components of signal transduction networks which link upstream G-protein coupled receptors to downstream cytoskeletal components and help cells migrate through their dynamic microenvironment. Conventional approaches to perturb and examine these signaling and cytoskeletal networks, such as gene knockout or overexpression, are protracted which allows networks to readjust through gene expression changes. Moreover, these tools lack spatial resolution to probe the effects of local network activations. To overc

SUBMITTER: Pal DS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10363612 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature