Analysis of Rab GTPase and GTPase-activating protein function at primary cilia.

ABSTRACT

Primary cilia are sensory structures on the cell surface whose formation requires tight integration of microtubules and polarized membrane trafficking events. Rabs are GTP-binding proteins of the Ras superfamily that control directed membrane trafficking by regulating membrane-membrane and membrane-cytoskeleton interactions. This chapter describes cell biological and biochemical methods for the analysis of Rab function and Rab GTPase-activating proteins during primary cilia formation.