Production and use of a cell permeable inhibitor of group a Paks (TAT-PID) to analyze signal transduction

The Rho-family GTPases Cdc42 and Rac regulate a large number of important cellular processes, including motility, adhesion, proliferation, and survival. Among the key effectors for these GTPases are the p21-activated kinases. Although no specific chemical inhibitor has been developed against these enzymes, an inhibitory peptide derived from the N-terminus of these kinases is able to act in trans to suppress the activity of the full-length kinase. Here, we describe a method to deliver the inhibitory fragment into cells, using the recently described TAT system for protein transduction. This method is easy to use and is effective for transducing many different cell types, including those refractory to standard plasmid transfection. Use of the TAT-based inhibitor provides a specific means to suppress a single group of Cdc42 and Rac effectors, which is useful in analyzing their function.