Regulation of the RHO-family of small GTPases by GEFT : a dissertation /
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Thesis Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
[College Station, Tex.] :
[Texas A&M University System Health Science Center],
[2005]
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| Subjects: |
| Abstract: | ABSTRACT: The Rho-family of small GTPases is involved in a diverse array of cellular processes including regulation of the actin cytoskeleton, cell polarity, microtubule dynamics, membrane transport pathways, and transcription factor activity. Modulation of the Rho-family proteins occurs primarily by the activating guanine nucleotide factors (GEFs) and the inhibitory GTPase activating proteins (GAPs). This study has examined the physiological role of GEFT, a GEF specific for the Rho-family of small GTPases. These findings demonstrate that GEFT promotes dendrite spine growth and neurite outgrowth in primary hippocampal neurons and neuroblastoma cells, respectively. Additionally, GEFT appears to promote the differentiation of ocular lens epithelium into terminally differentiated lens fibers, and mesenchymal progenitor cells into mature skeletal muscle cells while inhibiting the adipogenesis process. By understanding the function of GEFT in neuronal development, ocular formation, and mesenchymal differentiation, we are given an enhanced understanding of the role of GEFs and their downstream targets, the Rho-family proteins, in development and can extrapolate from these findings to give us a better understanding of aberrant cellular processes. |
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| Item Description: | Vita. "Major Subject: Medical Sciences". "Submitted to the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences of The Texas A&M University System Health Science Center in partial fulfillment for the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy August 2005." Approved as to style and content by: Mingwao Liu, Kishore Wary, James Martin, Xin-Hua Feng, Ken Fujise, Wallace McKeehan. Page one of abstract missing from volume. |
| Physical Description: | xvi, 352 leaves : illustrations (some color) ; 28 cm. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (leaves 244-351). |