ADP Ribosylation Factor Like Protein 4C (ARL4C)

ADP-ribosylation factors (ARFs) regulate diverse cellular functions, such as vesicle traffic, endocytosis, and phospholipase D activity. The predicted 192-amino acid ARL7 protein contains the motifs that are presumably involved in nucleotide binding and hydrolysis in other Ras-related GTPases. ARL7 also has the highly conserved residues typical of members of the ARF subfamily. ARL7 shares 71% amino acid identity with rat ARL4, 59% identity with human ARL6, 49% identity with human ARF1, and 43% identity with rat ARL1. Recombinant ARL7 had a considerably higher rate of guanine nucleotide exchange activity than ARF1 and ARP (ARFRP1). Northern blot analysis detected a 3.6-kb ARL7 transcript at high levels in brain and at lower levels in spleen, thymus, esophagus, stomach, intestine, and uterus.