Glossary

Choroideremia

A rare x-linked disease characterised by progressive blindness caused by degeneration of specific layers of the eye

 

Cytoskeleton

A network of actin and myosin filaments thoughout the cell which are responsible for movement of the cell, maintaining the cell's structure and shape, and movement of vesicles and proteins within the cell itself

 

GDP dissociation inhibitor (GDI)

A cytosolic protein which binds cytosolic, GDP bound Rab proteins

 

Geranylgeranylation

 A form of prenylation where 2 geranyl groups are added to a protein instead of a prenyl group

 

Griscelli Syndrome

A rare autosomal recessive disorder characterised by partial-albinism and haemophagocytic syndrome

 

Guanine-nucleotide exchange factor (GEF)

A membrane bound protein which facilitates the phosphorylation of Rab bound GDP to GTP

 

Hydrolysis (Of GTP to GDP)

Removal of a terminal phosphate group from a GTP molecule

 

Late endosome

A membrane bound compartment in eukaryotic cells.  They provide an environment for endocytosed material to be sorted before it reaches the degradative lysosome.

 

Perforin

A cytotoxic protein found in the granules of T-lymphocytes which can cause lysis of cells

 

Phosphorylation

The addition of a phosphate group to a protein or other organic molecule

 

Prenylation

The addition of a prenyl group (3-methyl-2-buten-1-yl) to cys residues in the c-terminus of a protein

 

Rab

A small GTP binding protein involved in membrane trafficking

 

Rab effector protein

Proteins anchored on the acceptor membrane which bind Rabs attached to transport vesicles, allowing docking of the vesicle

 

Rab escort protein

A multifunctional protein that binds newly geranylgeranylated Rab's and escorts them to their targets

 

Rab GGTase

The protein which mediates the addition of two geranyl molecules to cys residues in the c-terminus of a Rab protein

 

T-lymphocyte

A group of white blood cells that mature in the thymus.  There are several subtypes including: Helper, Cytotoxic, Memory, Regulatory and Natural killer T-lymphocytes

 

Vesicle

A small, intracellular, membrane-enclosed sac that stores and transports substances within a cell

 

Vesicle Trafficking (membrane trafficking)

The movement of vesicles though a cell via the cytoskeleton (to the plasma membrane or an intracellular organelle)