The WAVE gene family, which contains three members, has been shown to play a major role in the actin polymerization and cytoskeleton organization processes.

Members

Functions

The actin cytoskeleton plays critical roles in cell morphologic changes and motility. Rho family small GTPases, such as Rho (MIM.165370), RAC (MIM.602048), and CDC42 (MIM.116952), organize the actin cytoskeleton.

Other major players in actin-based motility are the 7 members of the ARP2/3 complex (MIM.604221). The Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (WASP) (MIM.301000), WASP-like (WASL) (MIM.605056), and WASF1 are among the downstream effector molecules involved in the transmission of signals from tyrosine kinase receptors and small GTPases to the actin cytoskeleton.

References

 Stradal TE, Rottner K, Disanza A, Confalonieri S, Innocenti M, Scita G. Regulation of actin dynamics by WASP and WAVE family proteins. Trends Cell Biol. 2004 Jun;14(6):303-11. PMID: #15183187#