Rho Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factor 7 (ARHGEF7)

Rho GTPases play a fundamental role in numerous cellular processes that are initiated by extracellular stimuli that work through G protein coupled receptors. ARHGEF7 belongs to a family of cytoplasmic proteins that activate the Ras-like family of Rho proteins by exchanging bound GDP for GTP. It may form a complex with G proteins and stimulate Rho-dependent signals. This protein can induce membrane ruffling. Multiple alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been described for this gene, but some of their full-length sequences have not been determined.The deduced protein contains 646 amino acids. Northern blot analysis detected highest expression in skeletal muscle and lower expression in all other tissues and cell lines examined.