Ras/MAPK signaling from endomembranes

Fehrenbacher, Nicole; Bar-Sagi, Dafna; Philips, Mark

doi:10.1016/j.molonc.2009.06.004

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Volume 3, Issue 4 , Pages 297-307, August 2009

Ras/MAPK signaling from endomembranes

Nicole Fehrenbacher
- Department of Cell Biology, NYU School of Medicine, 550 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA
- Department of Pharmacology, NYU School of Medicine, 550 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA
- Cancer Institute, NYU School of Medicine, 550 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA
Dafna Bar-Sagi
- Department of Biochemistry, NYU School of Medicine, 550 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA
- Cancer Institute, NYU School of Medicine, 550 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA
Mark Philips
- Department of Cell Biology, NYU School of Medicine, 550 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA
- Department of Medicine, NYU School of Medicine, 550 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA
- Department of Pharmacology, NYU School of Medicine, 550 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA
- Cancer Institute, NYU School of Medicine, 550 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA
- Corresponding author. Smilow Research Building, Rm. 1205, NYU School of Medicine, NYU Cancer Institute, 522 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA. Tel.: +1 212 263 7404; fax: +1 212 263 9210.

Received 8 June 2009; accepted 10 June 2009. published online 02 July 2009.

Abstract

Signal transduction along the Ras/MAPK pathway has been generally thought to take place at the plasma membrane. It is now evident that the plasma membrane is not the only platform capable of Ras/MAPK signal induction. Fusion of Ras with green fluorescent protein and the development of genetically encoded fluorescent probes for Ras activation have revealed signaling events on a variety of intracellular membranes including endosomes, the Golgi apparatus and the endoplasmic reticulum. Thus, the Ras/MAPK pathway is spatially compartmentalized within cells and this may afford greater complexity of signal output.

Keywords: Ras, Endosomes, Golgi, Farnesylation, Compartmentalization