Rho GTPase Activating Protein 8 (ARHGAP8)

ARHGAP8 is a member of the RHOGAP family. GAP family proteins participate in signaling pathways that regulate cell processes involved in cytoskeletal changes. Rare read-through transcripts, containing exons from the PRR5 gene which is located immediately upstream, led to the original description of this gene as encoding a RHOGAP protein containing the proline-rich domains characteristic of PRR5 proteins. Alternatively spliced variants encoding different isoforms have been described.The deduced 433-amino acid protein contains a BNIP2 and CDC42GAP homology (BCH) domain, followed by a proline-rich region and a C-terminal GAP domain with a conserved arginine necessary for catalytic activity. Database analysis identified 3 possible splice variants encoding BPGAP1-like proteins that differ in their N-terminal halves.