Isolation of cDNA Clones and Tissue Expression of Rat Ral A and Ral B GTP-Binding Proteins

Cell type-specific roles for Cdc42, Rac, and RhoL in Drosophila oogenesis.

“…Rho proteins are often associated with changes in cytoarchitecture, whereas Rab proteins mediate vesicle traffic. The functional distinctions are not strict, however: for example, Rhol, Rho3, and Rho4 have visible effects on the cytoskeleton but also seem to affect cell growth (Bender and Pringle, 1989;Matsui and Toh-e, 1992;Yamochi et al, 1994); RhoG and RhoB were both isolated on the basis of their increased expression after growth factor stimulation (Jahner and Hunter, 1991;Vincent et al, 1992); and Ral, which is most similar to Ras in sequence, is found on vesicles (Bielinski et al, 1993;Volknandt et al, 1993) and is expressed at highest levels in secretory tissues (Bhullar, 1992;Wildey et al, 1993). It is possible that these functional overlaps reflect the ability of the Ras superfamily to coordinate various processes, such as morphology and growth.…”

Identification and Characterization of a Calmodulin-binding Domain in Ral-A, a Ras-related GTP-binding Protein Purified from Human Erythrocyte Membrane

“…The isolation of additional Ral cDNAs from human pheochromocytoma and HL-60 leukemia libraries has revealed the existence of two forms of the gene, ral-A and ral-B, which are about 85% identical but differ essentially in their C-terminal region (5). Ral gene products are expressed in human platelet membrane (6), as well as in most cell types, with particularly high levels in brain and testis (7,8). Ral proteins have a diverse subcellular localization, not only in plasma membrane, but also in cytoplasmic vesicles, including clathrin-coated vesicles and secretory vesicles (9,10).…”

Rheb

“…However, we cannot appreciate the role of Ral proteins in cancer without understanding their contributions during development. Ral is expressed ubiquitously in tissues, but levels are highest in the brain, testis, and platelets (Olofsson et al 1988;Bhullar et al 1990;Wildey et al 1993). Zhao and Rivkees characterized the spatial and temporal patterns of RalA and RalB expression in mice during embryogenesis from E9.5 to E16 and showed that RalA and RalB expression first emerges in the brain and gut (Zhao and Rivkees 2000).…”