Background
The Ras p21 family of guanine nucleotide proteins has been widely studied in view of its apparent role in signal transduction pathways and high frequency of mutations in human malignancies. It is now clear, however, that the Ras proteins (H-, K- and N-Ras p21) are members of a much larger superfamily of related proteins. Six members of this family, Rap 1A, Rap 1B, Rap 2, R-Ras, Ral A and Ral B, exhibit approximately 50% amino acid homology to Ras. The six mammalian Rho proteins (Rho A, B, C, G, 7 and 8) are approximately 30% homologous to Ras and are expressed in a wide range of cell types. Both Ras p21 and Rho p21, as well as other members of the Ras superfamily, contain a carboxy-terminal CAAX sequence (C, cysteine; A, aliphatic amino acid; X, any amino acid) which in the case of Ras has been shown to be essential for correct localization and function.