About the Symposium
Bethesda, MD 20892
Building 35
Rooms 620/640
At the present time, all NIH-sponsored meetings are cancelled. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding.
Richard A. Kahn discovered the GTPase ADP-ribosylation factor (ARF) as a side project supporting the Nobel prize-winning work of Al Gilman on heterotrimeric G proteins and the first purification of Gs. The link between the ARF and G proteins, with the first member of each family being purified in the same lab, was a biochemical quirk; i.e., ARF is an obligate cofactor in the ADP-ribosylation of Gs by cholera toxin. Interestingly, later phylogenetic analyses revealed that G proteins emerged in evolution from the ARF superfamily. Rick went on to identify several other members of the larger family of Arf genes, which has at least 29 members in humans, and worked to uncover cellular function and mechanisms for several family members. Members of the ARF family are best known for roles in regulating membrane traffic, but they have also been found to regulate such divergent processes as folding and assembly of alpha-beta tubulin, ciliogenesis, mitochondrial fusion, cytokinesis, and other essential cell functions. Still, there is much to be learned about this ancient family of proteins and their mechanisms of regulation. This symposium will provide a historical perspective of the discovery of many of the ARFs, describing how our understanding of their functions has evolved as well as new directions towards understanding this ancient family of proteins and their fundamental roles in metazoans.