In silico tissue-distribution of human Rho family GTPase activating proteins

Rho family small GTPases are involved in the spatio-temporal regulation of several physiological processes. They operate as molecular switches based on their GTP- or GDP-bound state. Their GTPase activator proteins (Rho/Rac GAPs) are able to increase the GTP hydrolysis of small GTPases, which turns them to an inactive state. This regulatory step is a key element of signal termination. According to the human genome project the potential number of Rho family GAPs is approximately 70. Despite their significant role in cellular signaling our knowledge on their expression pattern is quite incomplete. In this study we tried to reveal the tissue-distribution of Rho/Rac GAPs based on expressed sequence tag (EST) database from healthy and tumor tissues and microarray experiments. Our accumulated data sets can provide important starting information for future research. However, the nomenclature of Rho family GAPs is quite heterogeneous. Therefore we collected the available names, abbreviations and aliases of human Rho/Rac GAPs in a useful nomenclature table. A phylogenetic tree and domain structure of 65 human RhoGAPs are also presented.