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Updated: Jul 14, 2026

RhoC GTPase Activation Assay
Published on: August 22, 2010
Positive feedback between Dia1, LARG, and RhoA regulates cell morphology and invasion
Thomas M Kitzing1, Arul S Sahadevan, Dominique T Brandt
1Institute of Pharmacology, University of Heidelberg, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
Abstract:
The RhoA-effector Dia1 controls actin-dependent processes such as cytokinesis, SRF transcriptional activity, and cell motility. Dia1 polymerizes actin through its formin homology (FH) 2 domain. Here we show that Dia1 acts upstream of RhoA independently of its effects on actin assembly. Dia1 binds to the leukemia-associated Rho-GEF (LARG) through RhoA-dependent release of Dia1 autoinhibition. The FH2 domain stimulates the guanine nucleotide exchange activity of LARG in vitro. Our results reveal that Dia1 is necessary for LPA-stimulated Rho/ROCK signaling and bleb-associated cancer cell invasion. Thus, Dia1-dependent RhoA activation constitutes a positive feedback mechanism to modulate cell behavior.
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