Bacterial cytotoxins target Rho GTPases

Low molecular mass GTPases of the Rho family, which are involved in the regulation of the actin cytoskeleton and in various signal transduction processes, are the eukaryotic targets of bacterial protein toxins. The toxins covalently modify Rho proteins by ADP ribosylation, glucosylation, and deamidation, thereby inactivating and activating the GTPases.