Ras superfamily

H-Ras structure PDB 121p, surface colored by conservation in Pfam seed alignment: gold, most conserved; dark cyan, least conserved.
Identifiers
Symbol	Ras
Pfam	PF00071
InterPro	IPR013753
PROSITE	PDOC00017
SCOP	5p21
SUPERFAMILY	5p21
OPM protein	1uad
CDD	cd00882
Available protein structures: Pfam structures PDB RCSB PDB; PDBe; PDBj PDBsum structure summary

The Ras superfamily is a protein superfamily of small GTPases, which are all related, to a degree, to the Ras protein subfamily (the key human members of which are KRAS, NRAS, and HRAS).

There are more than a hundred proteins in the Ras superfamily.^[1] Based on structure, sequence and function, the Ras superfamily is divided into nine main families, each of which further divided into subfamilies: Ras, Rad, Rab, Rap, Ran, Rho, Rheb, Rit, and Arf. Miro is a recent contributor to the superfamily.

Each subfamily shares the common core G domain, which provides essential GTPase and nucleotide exchange activity.

The surrounding sequence helps determine the functional specificity of the small GTPase, for example the 'Insert Loop', common to the Rho subfamily, specifically contributes to binding to effector proteins such as IQGAP and WASP.

In general, the Ras family is responsible for cell proliferation: Rho for cell morphology, Ran for nuclear transport, and Rab and Arf for vesicle transport.^[2]

Subfamilies and members

The following is a list of human proteins belonging to the Ras superfamily:^[1]

Unclassified:

• ARHGAP5
• DNAJC27
• GRLF1
• RASEF

See also

• Ras subfamily

References