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The Ras Gene

The Ras Gene

The Ras-gene-encoded proteins are regulators of signaling pathways controlling cell proliferation, differentiation, or cell survival. The Ras-gene family in humans constitutes three primary members—the HRas, NRas, and KRas. These genes code for four functionally distinct yet closely related proteins—the HRas, NRas, KRas4A, and KRas4B. The involvement of mutant Ras genes in human cancer was first discovered in 1982 and is among the most common causes of human tumorigenesis.
Ras is a superfamily...

Small GTPases - Ras and Rho

Small GTPases - Ras and Rho

Ras and Rho are small monomeric GTPases that act downstream of receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) and regulate various cellular processes. These GTPases switch between active and inactive states by binding to guanine nucleotides.
Three regulatory proteins control their activity:

Cell Polarization by Rho Proteins

Cell Polarization by Rho Proteins

Cell polarity is the asymmetric distribution of cellular and membrane components, making one side of the cell different from the other. This polarity is essential to many processes such as embryogenesis, axon migration, glucose transport across epithelial cells, and directional cell migration. A migrating cell responds to intracellular or extracellular signals via molecular cascades that reorganize the actin cytoskeleton to establish this polarity. In these cells, the Rho family proteins Cdc42,...

Rab Proteins

Rab Proteins

Rab proteins constitute the largest family of monomeric GTPases, of which 70 members are present in humans. Rab proteins and their effectors regulate consecutive stages of vesicle transport such as vesicle transport, docking, and fusion to the correct recipient membrane.
Rab proteins switch between a cytosolic, GDP-bound inactive state and a membrane-anchored, GTP-bound active state. By themselves, Rabs show slow rates of GDP/GTP exchange and GTP hydrolysis. Thus, Rab proteins are considered...

MAPK Signaling Cascades

MAPK Signaling Cascades

Mitogen-activated protein kinase, or MAPK pathway, activates three sequential kinases to regulate cellular responses such as proliferation, differentiation, survival, and apoptosis. The canonical MAPK pathway starts with a mitogen or growth factor binding to an RTK. The activated RTKs stimulate Ras, which recruits Raf or MAP3 Kinase (MAPKKK), the first kinase of the MAPK signaling cascade. Raf further phosphorylates and activates MEK or MAP2 Kinases (MAPKK), which in turn phosphorylates MAP...

Rab Cascades

Rab Cascades

Rab GTPases act in a regulated cascade during membrane fusion, helping the lipid bilayers mix. The Rab family of proteins are active when bound to GTP, and inactive when bound to GDP. Hence, they act as guanine nucleotide-dependent molecular switches. Rab-GTP recognizes and binds to long or short-range tethering proteins to capture the target vesicle. These tethers coordinate with SNAREs on the vesicle and the target membrane to assemble the trans SNARE complex that locks the mixing bilayers.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 8, 2026

Image-Based Methods to Study Membrane Trafficking Events in Stomatal Lineage Cells

Image-Based Methods to Study Membrane Trafficking Events in Stomatal Lineage Cells

Published on: May 12, 2023

Modeling membrane localization: case study of a Ras signaling model.

Edward C Stites¹

¹Medical Scientist Training Program, University of Virginia, MR6 Rm 3708, 801386, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA. ecs4a@virginia.edu

Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology

|September 25, 2010

Summary

This study examines how to model cell membrane reactions. We found that adjusting reaction rates using a specific factor improves model accuracy, especially for Ras signaling pathway predictions, confirming a theoretical value of 250.

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Last Updated: Jun 8, 2026

Image-Based Methods to Study Membrane Trafficking Events in Stomatal Lineage Cells

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Photoactivated Localization Microscopy with Bimolecular Fluorescence Complementation (BiFC-PALM)

Photoactivated Localization Microscopy with Bimolecular Fluorescence Complementation (BiFC-PALM)

Published on: December 22, 2015

Area of Science:

Systems biology
Biophysics
Cellular signaling

Background:

Accurate biological system modeling necessitates experimental data integration.
Incorporating 3D solution-derived rate constants for 2D cell membrane reactions presents a challenge.
A common method adjusts rate constants using a cytoplasmic-to-membrane volume ratio factor, often estimated at 250.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the impact of the membrane localization parameter's value on model predictions.
To assess the robustness of existing model predictions to variations in this parameter.
To determine if the theoretically derived factor of 250 optimizes model accuracy.

Main Methods:

Utilized a previously established model of the Ras signaling network.
Systematically varied the membrane localization parameter within the model.
Compared model predictions against experimental observations for key biological processes.

Main Results:

Many model predictions remained robust across different parameter values.
Predicted WT RasGTP levels post-transfection and increased RasGTP with GAP-insensitive mutants were sensitive to the parameter.
The theoretically derived parameter value of 250 yielded the closest agreement between model predictions and experimental data.

Conclusions:

The chosen parameter value significantly influences specific model predictions within the Ras signaling network.
A parameter value of 250, derived from theoretical considerations, enhances the predictive accuracy of the model.
This study validates the utility of the volume ratio adjustment method for modeling membrane-bound reactions.