Networking Rho Family GTPases in Lymphocytes

TL;DR: It is demonstrated that a deficiency in β1,6 N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase V (Mgat5), an enzyme in the N-glycosylation pathway, lowers T-cell activation thresholds by directly enhancing TCR clustering.

TL;DR: The action of CsA on JNK and p38 activation pathways is discussed and the potential of C sA and its natural counterparts as pharmacological probes is argued.

TL;DR: A complex system of signal transduction molecules, including tyrosine kinases, lipid kinase, second messengers and members of the Rho family of small GTPases is thought to regulate the cytoskeletal rearrangements underlying leukocyte polarization and migration.

TL;DR: A broad array of biological responses, including cell polarization, movement, immune and inflammatory responses, and prevention of HIV-1 infection, are triggered by the chemokines, a family of structurally related chemoattractant proteins that bind to specific seven-transmembrane receptors linked to G proteins.

TL;DR: The Rho GTPases form a subgroup of the Ras superfamily of 20- to 30-kD GTP-binding proteins that have been shown to regulate a wide spectrum of cellular functions, and some of the more recent exciting findings hinting at novel, unanticipated functions of the RhoGTPases are summarized.

TL;DR: The cloning of the cDNA is reported for a highly tyrosine-phosphorylated 36-38 kDa protein, previously characterized by its association with Grb2, phospholipase C-gamma1, and the p85 subunit of phosphoinositide 3-kinase, which is phosphorylated by ZAP-70/Syk protein tyrosines leading to recruitment of multiple signaling molecules.

TL;DR: Rho, Rac and Cdc42 are three Ras-related GTP-binding proteins that control the assembly and disassembly of the actin cytoskeleton in response to extracellular signals as discussed by the authors.

TL;DR: It is shown that enforced expression of the bcl-2 gene in T-lymphoid cells (by crossing in the Emu-bcl- 2 transgene) in IL-7R alpha-deficient mice results in a significant restoration of thymic positive selection and T cell numbers and function.