Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 12, 2025

RhoC GTPase Activation Assay
09:58

RhoC GTPase Activation Assay

Published on: August 22, 2010

12.9K

Rho GTPases in cancer radiotherapy and metastasis

Rui-Jie Zeng1,2, Chun-Wen Zheng1,2, Wan-Xian Chen1,2

  • 1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, 515041, China.

Cancer Metastasis Reviews
|August 11, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Rho guanosine triphosphatases (GTPases) are key regulators in cancer. Targeting these molecular switches may overcome radioresistance and reduce metastasis, improving radiotherapy outcomes for cancer patients.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Cancer Research

Background:

  • Radiotherapy is a cornerstone cancer treatment, but radioresistance and metastasis limit its efficacy.
  • Rho guanosine triphosphatases (GTPases) act as molecular switches, regulating critical cellular signaling pathways in cancer.
  • Emerging evidence implicates Rho GTPases in cancer radioresistance, metastasis, and radiation-induced metastasis.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To comprehensively review the roles of Rho GTPases in mediating cancer radiotherapeutic efficacy.
  • To elucidate the underlying mechanisms by which Rho GTPases influence treatment response.
  • To discuss the correlation between Rho GTPase activity, tumor metastasis, and radiation-induced metastasis.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review and synthesis of current research findings.
  • Integration of evidence on Rho GTPase functions in cancer.
  • Analysis of mechanisms linking Rho GTPases to radioresistance and metastasis.

Main Results:

  • Rho GTPase functions in radiotherapeutic efficacy are context-dependent and often divergent.
  • Rho GTPases play significant roles in both intrinsic and acquired radioresistance.
  • These proteins are implicated in promoting tumor cell migration, invasion, and metastasis, including radiation-induced spread.

Conclusions:

  • Targeting Rho GTPases presents a promising strategy to enhance radiotherapy effectiveness.
  • Inhibiting Rho GTPases may overcome radioresistance and simultaneously reduce the metastatic potential of cancer cells.
  • Context-specific application of Rho GTPase inhibitors holds potential for improved cancer patient outcomes.
Keywords:
MetastasisRac1RadioresistanceRadiotherapyRho GTPase

More Related Videos

Detection of Small GTPase Prenylation and GTP Binding Using Membrane Fractionation and GTPase-linked Immunosorbent Assay13:51

Detection of Small GTPase Prenylation and GTP Binding Using Membrane Fractionation and GTPase-linked Immunosorbent Assay

Published on: November 11, 2018

10.2K
Experimental Metastasis Assay08:28

Experimental Metastasis Assay

Published on: August 24, 2010

20.7K

Related Concept Videos

Small GTPases - Ras and Rho01:24

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:
5.0K
The Ras Gene02:38

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...
6.9K
Cell Polarization by Rho Proteins01:21

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,...
3.4K
mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression03:03

mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression

The mammalian target of rapamycin or mTOR protein was discovered in 1994 due to its direct interaction with rapamycin. The protein gets its name from a yeast homolog called TOR. The mTOR protein complex in mammalian cells plays a major role in balancing anabolic processes such as the synthesis of proteins, lipids, and nucleotides and catabolic processes, such as autophagy in response to environmental cues, such as availability of nutrients and growth factors.
The mTOR pathway or the...
4.5K
Mitogens and the Cell Cycle02:38

Mitogens and the Cell Cycle

Mitogens and their receptors play a crucial role in controlling the progression of the cell cycle. However, the loss of mitogenic control over cell division leads to tumor formation. Therefore, mitogens and mitogen receptors play an important role in cancer research. For instance, the epidermal growth factor (EGF) - a type of mitogen and its transmembrane receptor (EGFR), decides the fate of the cell's proliferation. When EGF binds to EGFR, a member of the ErbB family of tyrosine kinase...
7.5K
GTPases and their Regulation02:14

GTPases and their Regulation

Guanine nucleotide-binding proteins (G-proteins), also known as GTPases, are a superfamily of proteins that regulate many cellular processes, such as cell signaling, vesicular transport, and the regulation of cell shape and motility. Mutation or dysfunction of these proteins can lead to disease. There are around 40,000 known G-proteins that can broadly be classified into two groups ‒  small G-proteins consisting of a single domain and large multi-domain G-proteins.
Large G-proteins,...
9.5K