RAB26, Member RAS Oncogene Family (RAB26)

Members of the RAB protein family are important regulators of vesicular fusion and trafficking. The RAB family of small G proteins regulates intercellular vesicle trafficking, including exocytosis, endocytosis, and recycling. Seki et al. (2000) identified a new member of the RAB family of genes through a search of a public database, and isolated its full-length cDNA from a human fetal brain cDNA library. The deduced 190-amino acid protein shares 87% sequence identity with rat RAB26. By RT-PCR, Seki et al. (2000) demonstrated that RAB26 is predominantly expressed in adult and fetal brain, with high expression in the amygdala, cerebellum, caudate nucleus, and hippocampus. RAB26 gene contains 8 exons that span about 44 kb of genomic DNA.