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Rab GTPase family 40 (Rab40) contains Rab40a, Rab40b and Rab40c The Rab40 subfamily contains Rab40a, Rab40b, and Rab40c, which are all highly homologous. In rat, Rab40c is localized to the perinuclear recycling compartment (PRC), and is distributed in a tissue-specific manor, with high expression in brain, heart, kidney, and testis, low expression in lung and liver, and no expression in spleen and skeletal muscle. Rab40c is highly expressed in differentiated oligodendrocytes but minimally expressed in oligodendrocyte progenitors, suggesting a role in the vesicular transport of myelin components. Unlike most other Ras-superfamily proteins, Rab40c was shown to have a much lower affinity for GTP, and an affinity for GDP that is lower than for GTP. GTPase activating proteins (GAPs) interact with GTP-bound Rab and accelerate the hydrolysis of GTP to GDP. Guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) interact with GDP-bound Rabs to promote the formation of the GTP-bound state. Rabs are further regulated by guanine nucleotide dissociation inhibitors (GDIs), which facilitate Rab recycling by masking C-terminal lipid binding and promoting cytosolic localization. Most Rab GTPases contain a lipid modification site at the C-terminus, with sequence motifs CC, CXC, or CCX. Lipid binding is essential for membrane attachment, a key feature of most Rab proteins.
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