Rab proteins and Rab-associated proteins: major actors in the mechanism of protein-trafficking disorders

Ras-associated binding (Rab) proteins and Rab-associated proteins are key regulators of vesicle transport, which is essential for the delivery of proteins to specific intracellular locations. More than 60 human Rab proteins have been identified, and their function has been shown to depend on their interaction with different Rab-associated proteins regulating Rab activation, post-translational modification and intracellular localization. The number of known inherited disorders of vesicle trafficking due to Rab cycle defects has increased substantially during the past decade. This review describes the important role played by Rab proteins in a number of rare monogenic diseases as well as common multifactorial human ones. Although the clinical phenotype in these monogenic inherited diseases is highly variable and dependent on the type of tissue in which the defective Rab or its associated protein is expressed, frequent features are hypopigmentation (Griscelli syndrome), eye defects (Choroideremia, Warburg Micro syndrome and Martsolf syndrome), disturbed immune function (Griscelli syndrome and Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease) and neurological dysfunction (X-linked non-specific mental retardation, Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease, Warburg Micro syndrome and Martsolf syndrome). There is also evidence that alterations in Rab function play an important role in the progression of multifactorial human diseases, such as infectious diseases and type 2 diabetes. Rab proteins must not only be bound to GTP, but they need also to be ‘prenylated’—i.e. bound to the cell membranes by isoprenes, which are intermediaries in the synthesis of cholesterol (e.g. geranyl geranyl or farnesyl compounds). This means that isoprenylation can be influenced by drugs such as statins, which inhibit isoprenylation, or biphosphonates, which inhibit that farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase necessary for Rab GTPase activity. Conclusion: Although protein-trafficking disorders are clinically heterogeneous and represented in almost every subspeciality of pediatrics, the identification of common pathogenic mechanisms may provide a better diagnosis and management of patients with still unknown Rab cycle defects and stimulate the development of therapeutic agents

Deregulation of Rab and Rab Effector Genes in Bladder Cancer

Growing evidence indicates that Rab GTPases, key regulators of intracellular transport in eukaryotic cells, play an important role in cancer. We analysed the deregulation at the transcriptional level of the genes encoding Rab proteins and Rab-interacting proteins in bladder cancer pathogenesis, distinguishing between the two main progression pathways so far identified in bladder cancer: the Ta pathway characterized by a high frequency of FGFR3 mutation and the carcinoma in situ pathway where no or infrequent FGFR3 mutations have been identified. A systematic literature search identified 61 genes encoding Rab proteins and 223 genes encoding Rab-interacting proteins. Transcriptomic data were obtained for normal urothelium samples and for two independent bladder cancer data sets corresponding to 152 and 75 tumors. Gene deregulation was analysed with the SAM (significant analysis of microarray) test or the binomial test. Overall, 30 genes were down-regulated, and 13 were up-regulated in the tumor samples. Five of these deregulated genes (LEPRE1, MICAL2, RAB23, STXBP1, SYTL1) were specifically deregulated in FGFR3-non-mutated muscle-invasive tumors. No gene encoding a Rab or Rab-interacting protein was found to be specifically deregulated in FGFR3-mutated tumors. Cluster analysis showed that the RAB27 gene cluster (comprising the genes encoding RAB27 and its interacting partners) was deregulated and that this deregulation was associated with both pathways of bladder cancer pathogenesis. Finally, we found that the expression of KIF20A and ZWINT was associated with that of proliferation markers and that the expression of MLPH, MYO5B, RAB11A, RAB11FIP1, RAB20 and SYTL2 was associated with that of urothelial cell differentiation markers. This systematic analysis of Rab and Rab effector gene deregulation in bladder cancer, taking relevant tumor subgroups into account, provides insight into the possible roles of Rab proteins and their effectors in bladder cancer pathogenesis. This approach is applicable to other group of genes and types of cancer

Design, synthesis, and characterization of peptide-based rab geranylgeranyl transferase inhibitors

Rab geranylgeranyl transferase (RabGGTase) catalyzes the attachment of geranylgeranyl isoprenoids to Rab guanine triphosphatases, which are key regulators in vesicular transport. Because geranylgeranylation is required for proper function and overexpression of Rabs has been observed in various cancers, RabGGTase may be a target for novel therapeutics. The development of selective inhibitors is, however, difficult because two related enzymes involved in other cellular processes exist in eukaryotes and because RabGGTase recognizes protein substrates indirectly, resulting in relaxed specificity. We report the synthesis of a peptidic library based on the farnesyl transferase inhibitor pepticinnamin E. Of 469 compounds investigated, several were identified as selective for RabGGTase with low micromolar IC50 values. The compounds were not generally cytotoxic and inhibited Rab isoprenylation in COS-7 cells. Crystal structure analysis revealed that selective inhibitors interact with a tunnel unique to RabGGTase, implying that this structural motif is an attractive target for improved RabGGTase inhibitors

Emotions and Affect as Source, Outcome and Resistance to Inequality

While sociologists usually focus on the material aspects of inequality, its emotional outcomes are one of the reasons we care about it. People who occupy the lower positions in unequal social structures experience negative, impotent, and unengaged feelings that depress their quality of life. This chapter explores how affective meanings, transmitted by cultural systems and individual interactional experiences, help to create and re-create patterns of inequality. We first explore how affective meanings translate cultural sentiments into local interactions, creating inequality as it is experienced in everyday life. Self-identities and emotional responses of the stigmatized often reinforce these cultural responses, leading the disadvantaged to self-destructive responses. After discussing how affect and emotion create inequality, we discuss the related topic of how people experience structural emotions as a result of occupying a disadvantaged social position. We document the stress of not being able to verify valued identities or control life circumstances. Finally, we discuss the ways in which emotions can motivate people to resist inequality, by forming coalitions through affective commitments, by recognizing solidarity with other like-minded people in social movements, and by forming subcultures where affective meanings can generate positive structural emotions