{"doi":"10.17615/2b57-4604","title":"Entamoeba histolytica RacC Selectively Engages p21-Activated Kinase Effectors","abstract":"Rho family GTPases modulate actin cytoskeleton dynamics by signaling through multiple effectors, including the p21-activated kinases (PAKs). The intestinal parasite Entamoeba histolytica expresses ∼20 Rho family GTPases and seven isoforms of PAK, two of which have been implicated in pathogenesis-related processes such as amoebic motility and invasion and host cell phagocytosis. Here, we describe two previously unstudied PAK isoforms, EhPAK4 and EhPAK5, as highly specific effectors of EhRacC. A structural model based on 2.35 Å X-ray crystallographic data of a complex between EhRacCQ65L·GTP and the EhPAK4 p21 binding domain (PBD) reveals a fairly well-conserved Rho/effector interface despite deviation of the PBD α-helix. A structural comparison with EhRho1 in complex with EhFormin1 suggests likely determinants of Rho family GTPase signaling specificity in E. histolytica. These findings suggest a high degree of Rho family GTPase diversity and specificity in the single-cell parasite E. histolytica. Because PAKs regulate pathogenesis-related processes in E. histolytica, they may be valid pharmacologic targets for anti-amoebiasis drugs.","journal":"Figshare","year":2020,"id":117370,"datarank":0.0,"base_score":0.0,"endowment":0.0,"self_citation_contribution":0.0,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.0,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":1,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":0.9534,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2020-01-01","fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":544143,"name":"Dustin E. Bosch","orcid":"0000-0002-7430-2939","position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":437994,"name":"David P. Siderovski","orcid":"0000-0002-0688-8210","position":0,"is_corresponding":true}],"reference_count":0,"raw_metadata":null,"created_at":"2026-07-18T23:13:51.309289Z","pmid":null,"pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}