Characterization of an mDock5-specific antibody and tissue-specific expression and subcellular localization of mDock5

Rho gtpase controls multiple signal-transduction pathways involving the actin cytoskeleton and the microtubule cytoskeleton in processes such as the cell cycle,morphogenesis,and cell migration. the activity of rho gtpases,such as rac1,cdc42,and rhoa,is regulated by gtpase-activating proteins (gaps),guanine nucleotide exchange factors (gefs),and guanine nucleotide dissociation inhibitor (gdi). the gefs activate rho gtpases through exchange of gdp for gtp. a group of the gef family,cdm-gef,containing the dock180 homology region 2 (dhr2) domain is sub-divided into four groups based on amino acid sequences. one of these subgroups,dock-a,includes dock1,dock2,and dock5,and activates rac1 rho gtpase. mouse dock5 (mdock5) is structurally similar to dock1 and composed of 1868 amino acids containing src homology 3 (sh3),dhr1,dhr2,and a proline-rich (pr) motif. we generated an mdock5-specific antibody,which detected denatured and nascent forms of mdock5. we determined tissue-specific expression patterns and subcellular localization of mdock5 using this antibody. this antibody provides a way to delineate the biological functions of mdock5 in vivo. © 2010 bentham science publishers ltd.