AUTHOR=Jin Hongyuan , Tang Yuanxin , Yang Liang , Peng Xueqiang , Li Bowen , Fan Qin , Wei Shibo , Yang Shuo , Li Xinyu , Wu Bo , Huang Mingyao , Tang Shilei , Liu Jingang , Li Hangyu TITLE=Rab GTPases: Central Coordinators of Membrane Trafficking in Cancer JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology VOLUME=Volume 9 - 2021 YEAR=2021 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cell-and-developmental-biology/articles/10.3389/fcell.2021.648384 DOI=10.3389/fcell.2021.648384 ISSN=2296-634X ABSTRACT=

Tumor progression involves invasion, migration, metabolism, autophagy, exosome secretion, and drug resistance. Cargos transported by membrane vesicle trafficking underlie all of these processes. Rab GTPases, which, through coordinated and dynamic intracellular membrane trafficking alongside cytoskeletal pathways, determine the maintenance of homeostasis and a series of cellular functions. The mechanism of vesicle movement regulated by Rab GTPases plays essential roles in cancers. Therefore, targeting Rab GTPases to adjust membrane trafficking has the potential to become a novel way to adjust cancer treatment. In this review, we describe the characteristics of Rab GTPases; in particular, we discuss the role of their activation in the regulation of membrane transport and provide examples of Rab GTPases regulating membrane transport in tumor progression. Finally, we discuss the clinical implications and the potential as a cancer therapeutic target of Rab GTPases.