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RhoGAP: GTPase-activator protein (GAP) for Rho-like GTPases; GAPs towards Rho/Rac/Cdc42-like small GTPases. Small GTPases (G proteins) cluster into distinct families, and all act as molecular switches, active in their GTP-bound form but inactive when bound to GDP. The Rho family of small G proteins, which includes Cdc42Hs, activates effectors involved in a wide variety of developmental processes, including regulation of cytoskeleton formation, cell proliferation and the JNK signaling pathway. G proteins generally have a low intrinsic GTPase hydrolytic activity but there are family-specific groups of GAPs that enhance the rate of GTP hydrolysis by several orders of magnitude. The RhoGAPs are one of the major classes of regulators of Rho G proteins.
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