Background information
ADP-ribosylation factors (ARFs) are highly conserved guanine nucleotide binding proteins that enhance the ADP-ribosyltransferase activity of Cholera Toxin. ARF’s are important in eukaryotic vesicular trafficking pathways and they play an essential role in the activation of phospholipase D (PC-PLD). ARL8B (ADP-ribosylation factor-like protein 8B), also known as ARL10C or GIE1, is a 186 amino acid protein that localizes to the late endosome membrane and belongs to the ARL family of ARF-like GTPase proteins. Expressed ubiquitously, ARL8A interacts with Tubulin and is thought to play a role in lysosome motility, as well as in chromosomal segregation. The gene encoding ARL8B maps to human chromosome 3, which houses over 1,100 genes, including a chemokine receptor (CKR) gene cluster and a variety of human cancer-related gene loci.