Cell
Volume 70, Issue 3, 7 August 1992, Pages 401-410
Journal home page for Cell

Article
The small GTP-binding protein rac regulates growth factor-induced membrane ruffling

https://doi.org/10.1016/0092-8674(92)90164-8Get rights and content

Abstract

The function of rac, a ras-related GTP-binding protein, was investigated in fibroblasts by microinjection. In confluent serum-starved Swiss 3T3 cells, rac1 rapidly stimulated actin filament accumulation at the plasma membrane, forming membrane ruffles. Several growth factors and activated H-ras also induced membrane ruffling, and this response was prevented by a dominant inhibitory mutant rac protein, N17rac1. This suggests that endogenous rac proteins are required for growth factor-induced membrane ruffling. In addition to membrane ruffling, a later response to both rac1 microinjection and some growth factors was the formation of actin stress fibers, a process requiring endogenous rho proteins. Using N17rac1 we have shown that these growth factors act through rac to stimulate this rho-dependent response. We propose that rac and rho are essential components of signal transduction pathways linking growth factors to the organization of polymerized actin.

References (45)

  • A.E.M. Adams et al.

    CDC42 and CDC43, two additional genes involved in budding and the establishment of cell polarity in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

    J. Cell Biol.

    (1990)
  • D. Bar-Sagi et al.

    Induction of membrane ruffling and fluid-phase pinocytosis in quiescent fibroblasts by ras proteins

    Science

    (1986)
  • D. Bar-Sagi et al.

    Inhibition of cell surface ruffling and fluid-phase pinocytosis by microinjection of anti-ras antibodies into living cells

    J. Cell. Physiol.

    (1987)
  • J.F. Battey et al.

    Molecular cloning of the bombesin/gastrin-releasing peptide receptor from Swiss 3T3 cells

  • H.A. Bourne et al.

    The GTPase superfamily: conserved structure and molecular mechanism

    Nature

    (1991)
  • H. Cai et al.

    Effect of a dominant inhibitory Ha-ras mutation on mitogenic signal transduction in NIH 3T3 cells

    Mol. Cell. Biol.

    (1990)
  • M.L. Cano et al.

    Kinetic analysis of F-actin depolymerisation in polymorphonuclear leukocyte lysates indicates that chemoattractant stimulation increases actin filament number without altering the filament length distribution

    J. Cell Biol.

    (1991)
  • M. Carson et al.

    An actin-nucleating activity in polymorphonuclear leukocytes is modulated by chemotactic peptides

    J. Cell Biol.

    (1986)
  • P. Chardin et al.

    The mammalian G protein rhoC is ADP-ribosylated by Clostridium botulinum exoenzyme C3 and affects actin microfilaments in Vero cells

    EMBO J.

    (1989)
  • D. Diekmann et al.

    Bcr encodes a GTPase activating protein for p21rac

    Nature

    (1991)
  • G.P. Downey et al.

    Phorbol ester-induced actin assembly in neutrophils: role of protein kinase C

    J. Cell Biol.

    (1992)
  • J. Downward et al.

    Stimulation of p21ras upon T-cell activation

    Nature

    (1990)
  • Cited by (3245)

    • Inflammatory breast cancer biomarkers and biology

      2024, International Review of Cell and Molecular Biology
    View all citing articles on Scopus
    View full text