Commentary Cellscience Reviews Vol 3 No 4 ISSN 1742-8130

Rac GTPase and cyclic nucleotides; Fitting cGMP into the cell migration machinery

Cell migration requires a series of complex and repetitive signaling events that must be delicately coordinated in space and time. While many of the molecules involved in this process have been identified, much remains to be elucidated as to how these molecules crosstalk to coordinate cell translocation. Cyclic nucleotides such as cyclic AMP (cAMP) and cyclic GMP (cGMP) are second messengers that are known to contribute to cell migration. While cAMP contributions through the activation of EPACs and Protein Kinase A have been given considerable attention, how cGMP fits into the cell migration machinery is just being realized. In a recent publication by Guo et al. in Cell, cGMP generation by guanylyl cyclases has been identified as one of the downstream targets of the Rac1-Pak pathway.

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