Small GTPases articles from across Nature Portfolio

The plasma membrane of eukaryotic cells can fold inwards to create reservoirs that store or release excess membrane. Zhu et al. show that Salmonella-secreted effectors modulate these reservoirs to facilitate host cell invasion.

Targeting of transport vesicles requires specific proteins and membrane lipids. Here, authors microinjected liposomes with a predetermined composition to show that targeting by SNAREs is refined when polyphosphoinositides and Rab GTPases are included.

Shigella enters human cells in a phagocytic vacuole and then escapes the vacuole to colonize the cytosol. Here, Chang and coworkers show that Shigella uses a bacterial effector to subvert host Rab proteins, microtubules and molecular motors to provide mechanical force to facilitate Shigella escape.

Small GTPases such as Rabs control the positioning of lysosomes. Here, the authors unveil a molecular cascade orchestrated by Arl8/DENND6A/Rab34 that regulates lysosome location, impacting autophagy.

A vesicle trafficking Rab11 effector switch is important for ciliogenesis. Here, the authors report a ciliopathy-related disorder caused by variants in WDR44, a Rab11 effector. WDR44 variants show higher affinity for Rab11 and can impair ciliogenesis.

Reimer et al. used cryo-EM and cellular assays to reveal the structural and regulatory features that distinguish LRRK1 from LRRK2, and placed these features in the context of the evolution of the LRRK family of proteins.

The intestinal epithelium serves as a barrier that facilitates interaction between intrinsic and environmental factors. Aging is accompanied by the gradual deterioration of this barrier. We postulate that barrier dysfunction results from defects in epithelial membrane trafficking that exacerbate age-related metabolic imbalances. Herein, we integrate barrier integrity, protein homeostasis, membrane trafficking and intracellular lipid sensing into an age-determining mechanism.

Many endocytic uptake events depend on the ‘pinchase’ activity of dynamin. By measuring the orientation of single gold nanorods, a new study reveals that invaginated clathrin-coated endocytic pits undergo a strong rotational twist prior to or concomitant with their detachment.

Rag GTPases play a crucial role in mTORC1 activation by promoting its recruitment to the lysosomal surface in a nutrient-dependent manner. A study now identifies a family of lysosomal G-protein-coupled receptors as modulators of Rag GTPases localization and activation, adding one more component to the fast-growing mTOR regulatory network.

Two studies in Science show that biomolecular condensates of membrane-associated signalling complexes increase the residence of signalling effectors within these complexes.

Channing Der and Kirsten Bryant discuss recent work leading towards therapeutic targeting of autophagy in pancreatic cancer.