Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 10, 2026

Light-mediated Reversible Modulation of the Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase Pathway during Cell Differentiation and Xenopus Embryonic Development
Published on: June 15, 2017
Carboxyl methylation of Ras-related proteins during signal transduction in neutrophils
M R Philips1, M H Pillinger, R Staud
1Department of Medicine, New York University Medical Center, NY 10016.
Abstract:
In human neutrophils, as in other cell types, Ras-related guanosine triphosphate-binding proteins are directed toward their regulatory targets in membranes by a series of posttranslational modifications that include methyl esterification of a carboxyl-terminal prenylcysteine residue. In intact cells and in a reconstituted in vitro system, the amount of carboxyl methylation of Ras-related proteins increased in response to the chemoattractant N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (FMLP). Activation of Ras-related proteins by guanosine-5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) had a similar effect and induced translocation of p22rac2 from cytosol to plasma membrane. Inhibitors of prenylcysteine carboxyl methylation effectively blocked neutrophil responses to FMLP. These findings suggest a direct link between receptor-mediated signal transduction and the carboxyl methylation of Ras-related proteins.
Related Concept Videos
The Ras Gene
Ras is a superfamily...
Interactions Between Signaling Pathways
Convergence and divergence, and cross-talk between signaling pathways
Two distinct signaling pathways can converge on a single functional unit, which may either be a single protein or a complex of proteins. The response is either functionally distinct or synergistic between the two pathways but different from the response...
Receptor Tyrosine Kinases
Small GTPases - Ras and Rho
Three regulatory proteins control their activity:
MAPK Signaling Cascades
Calmodulin-dependent Signaling
The Ca2+-CaM complex does not have enzymatic activity by itself. Instead, the complex binds downstream target proteins, including membrane proteins or enzymes,...

