ced-10 encodes a GTPase orthologous to human RAC1 (OMIM:602048) that is required for phagocytosis during programmed cell death and for migration of the distal tip cells of the somatic gonad; CED-10 functions in the engulfing cell during apoptosis, and is activated by a complex of CED-2(CrkII) and CED-5(DOCK180) to promote formation of the polarized cell extensions associated with cell corpse engulfment.
Enables GTP binding activity and GTPase activity. Involved in several processes, including axon development; establishment or maintenance of cell polarity; and regulation of cellular component organization. Located in cytoplasmic side of plasma membrane; cytoplasmic vesicle; and neuronal cell body. Expressed in several structures, including CAN; GABAergic neurons; distal tip cell; intestine; and somatic nervous system. Used to study epilepsy. Human ortholog(s) of this gene implicated in several diseases, including autosomal dominant intellectual developmental disorder 48; combined immunodeficiency (multiple); and gastrointestinal system cancer (multiple). Is an ortholog of human RAC1 (Rac family small GTPase 1).