Rho GTPases in Skeletal Muscle Development and Homeostasis

Open Access

Abstract

© 2021 by the authors. ; Rho guanosine triphosphate hydrolases (GTPases) are molecular switches that cycle between an inactive guanosine diphosphate (GDP)-bound and an active guanosine triphosphate (GTP)-bound state during signal transduction. As such, they regulate a wide range of both cellular and physiological processes. In this review, we will summarize recent work on the role of Rho GTPase-regulated pathways in skeletal muscle development, regeneration, tissue mass homeostatic balance, and metabolism. In addition, we will present current evidence that links the dysregulation of these GTPases with diseases caused by skeletal muscle dysfunction. Overall, this information underscores the critical role of a number of members of the Rho GTPase subfamily in muscle development and the overall metabolic balance of mammalian species. ; The X.R.B.'s lab is funded by the Spanish Association against Cancer (GC16173472GARC), the Castilla-León autonomous government (CSI252P18, CSI145P20, CLC-2017-01), the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MSI) (RTI2018-096481-B-100), and "la Caixa" Banking Foundation (HR20-00164). X.R.B.'s institution is supported by the Programa de Apoyo a Planes Estratégicos de Investigación de Estructuras de Investigación de Excelencia of the Castilla-León autonomous government (CLC-2017-01). SR–F's contract has been supported by the MISIU (BES–2013–063573) and a fellowship from the Fundación Ramón Areces (BEVP32P01S10090). The funding from both the Spanish and Castilla-León governments has been partially supported by the European Regional Development Fund. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.