In response to signals from certain proteins and enzymes, a cell can start to move and shake, leading to contractions that cause it to squeeze, pinch, and eventually divide. As daughter cells follow ...

The enzyme GEF, which naturally circulates in starfish cell cytoplasm, is involved in this circuitry. Upon activation, GEF induces a change in the protein Rho – a key element in regulating cell ...

When the GEF enzyme stimulates Rho, it causes the protein to switch from an essentially free-floating state to a state that binds the protein to the cell’s membrane.

When the GEF enzyme stimulates Rho, it causes the protein to switch to a membrane-bound state where it triggers the growth of muscle-like fibers that thread out across the membrane and ...

An evolutionarily conserved chemical circuitry controls the shape of starfish egg cells. One of the key components of this network is the enzyme Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factor (Rho-GEF), which ...

By incorporating light-controllable molecular switches into GEF enzymes, the researchers managed to optogenetically influence the shape dynamics of the oocytes in a targeted manner.