Simultaneous and independent tuning of RhoA and Rac1 activity with orthogonally inducible promoters.

ABSTRACT: The GTPases RhoA and Rac1 are key regulators of cell spreading, adhesion, and migration, and they exert distinct effects on the actin cytoskeleton. While RhoA classically stimulates stress fiber assembly and contraction, Rac1 promotes branched actin polymerization and membrane protrusion. These competing influences are reinforced by antagonistic crosstalk between RhoA and Rac1, which has complicated efforts to identify the specific mechanisms by which each GTPase regulates cell behavior. We therefore wondered whether RhoA and Rac1 are intrinsically coupled or whether they can be manipulated independently. To address this question, we placed constitutively active (CA) RhoA under a doxycycline-inducible promoter and CA Rac1 under an orthogonal cumate-inducible promoter, and we stably introdu

SUBMITTER: MacKay JL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4141552 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature