The transmission of information from the outside to the inside of a cell or between internal cellular components is essential for cell survival. Small ras-related GTPases are critical components of the cellular signal transduction machinery, disregulation of which can lead to a variety of human diseases. Arl proteins are members of the Arf family of GTPases but their function is not well understood. For example, it is not known whether they act as molecular switches via a nucleotide-binding cycle like other G proteins. Completion of the experiments described in this proposal will help achieve the long-term goal of improving our understanding of the regulation of the Arl GTPases and their function(s) in the cell. The hypothesis that Arl2 acts to regulate multi-protein complexes will be tested by first purifying to homogeneity the Arl2 GTPase activating protein (GAP) activity found in mitochondria.
The second aim of this project is to investigate the GAP gene structure and expression profile and to identify related genes in humans and model organisms.
The third aim i s to examine the function of the protein through biochemical analysis of the GAP activity, subcellular and submitochondrial localization, and identification of its functional domains.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
Type
Postdoctoral Individual National Research Service Award (F32)
Project #
5F32GM067465-02
Application #
6750088
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-F05 (20))
Program Officer
Marino, Pamela
Project Start
2003-05-01
Project End
2005-04-30
Budget Start
2004-05-01
Budget End
2005-04-30
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2004
Total Cost
$50,548
Indirect Cost
Name
Emory University
Department
Biochemistry
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
066469933
City
Atlanta
State
GA
Country
United States
Zip Code
30322
Bowzard, J Bradford; Cheng, Dongmei; Peng, Junmin et al. (2007) ELMOD2 is an Arl2 GTPase-activating protein that also acts on Arfs. J Biol Chem 282:17568-80
Bowzard, J Bradford; Sharer, J Daniel; Kahn, Richard A (2005) Assays used in the analysis of Arl2 and its binding partners. Methods Enzymol 404:453-67