hspc 022

Ras-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate 2 (Rac2) is a small G-protein belonging to the Ras subfamily of the GTPase family. Rac2 acts as an on off switch for signal transduction cascades and motilities. When GDP is attached to the small G-protein, the enzyme is inactivated. Release of the GDP and replace of the GTP cativate the GTPasee. Rac2 remains active until the GTP is hydrolyzed to GDP. Rac2 is a hematopoietic-specific Rho family GTPase implicated as an important constituent of the NADPH oxidase complex and shares 92% amino acid identity with the ubiquitously expressed Rac1. The small G-protein Rac2 regulates the rearrangements of actin and membrane necessary for Fcy receptor-mediated phagocytosis by macrophages. Activated Rac2 binds to the p21-binding domain of PAK1 and this binding provided a basis for microscopic methods to localize activation of these G proteins inside cells.