The ras-like protein p25rab3A is partially cytosolic and is expressed only in neural tissue

An antipeptide antiserum has been developed against a sequence near the C terminus of the small guanine nucleotide-binding protein p25rab3A. This protein is the product of one of a large number of genes that show homology to the ras proto-oncogenes. Immunoblotting with the antiserum specifically detected a 25-kilodalton protein in brain membranes. This protein coeluted from a MonoQ high-resolution ion-exchange column with a 25-kilodalton GTP-binding protein at a salt concentration similar to that known to elute purified p25rab3A. Unlike p21ras, which is exclusively membrane bound, p25rab3A is present in both the cytosol and membrane fractions of rat brain. It was not detected in other tissues, although a band of slightly lower molecular weight was observed with skeletal muscle. Western blot (immunoblot) analysis of five regions of the rat brain indicated that p25rab3A is most abundant in the hypothalamus and hippocampus.