We are characterizing these regulators in vitro and in vivo. We originally discovered C3G, the first activator of Rap1. We have generated C3G knockout mice and characterizing the role of C3G-Rap1 pathway in vivo. Visualization of the activation of oncogene products in the cells. Guanine nucleotide exchange factor promotes GTP-loading and activation of Ras.
Phylogenetic tree is constructed by the neighbor-joining method.
The specificity to Ras, Rap, and R-Ras appears to be obtained later in the evolution of GEFs. Inhibition of morphological transformation by Rap1 and Rap2.