ECT2 Gene

HGNC Family	Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factors (ARHGEF)
Name	epithelial cell transforming 2
Description	The protein encoded by this gene is a guanine nucleotide exchange factor and transforming protein that is related to Rho-specific exchange factors and yeast cell cycle regulators. The expression of this gene is elevated with the onset of DNA synthesis and remains elevated during G2 and M phases. In situ hybridization analysis showed that expression is at a high level in cells undergoing mitosis in regenerating liver. Thus, this protein is expressed in a cell cycle-dependent manner during liver regeneration, and is thought to have an important role in the regulation of cytokinesis. Several transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been found for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Mar 2017]
Summary	{"type": "root", "children": [{"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n Epithelial cell transforming sequence 2 (ECT2) is a guanine nucleotide exchange factor whose primary function is to activate RhoA at precisely defined stages of cell division. In early mitosis, ECT2 is maintained in the nucleus, but as cells progress into prophase, phosphorylation by mitotic kinases such as Cdk1 and Plk1 induces its export to the cytoplasm. Once in the cytoplasm, ECT2 localizes to the central spindle and equatorial cortex through interactions with components of the centralspindlin complex (for example, HsCyk‐4), where it catalyzes the conversion of RhoA into its active GTP-bound form. This spatially restricted activation of RhoA is critical for orchestrating key events in cytokinesis—first by contributing to mitotic cell rounding via establishment of a stiff cortical actin network and later by triggering the assembly and ingression of the actomyosin contractile ring necessary for cleavage furrow formation and successful cell division."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_fs", "start_ref": "1", "end_ref": "4"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n Moreover, the activity of ECT2 is tightly controlled by its structural domains. Its tandem BRCT domains engage in intramolecular interactions that normally restrain its exchange activity during interphase; disruption of this regulation—as through mislocalization or removal of inhibitory segments—can lead to premature or aberrant RhoA activation. Such deregulation not only perturbs cytokinesis but has also been implicated as a mechanism of oncogenic transformation."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "5"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n In addition to its canonical role in cell division, dysregulated ECT2 expression or mislocalization is frequently observed in several cancers—including lung, esophageal, glioblastoma, and hepatocellular carcinoma—and contributes to tumorigenesis by promoting enhanced Rho GTPase signaling, proliferation, invasion, and even transcriptional programs (for instance, rDNA transcription) that sustain malignant growth."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_fs", "start_ref": "7", "end_ref": "11"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n In summary, ECT2 integrates cell cycle cues with cytoskeletal remodeling by activating RhoA at the correct time and place to ensure accurate mitotic rounding and cytokinesis. When its regulation fails, however, ECT2-driven RhoA activation can drive oncogenic processes, highlighting its importance both as a central mediator of normal cell division and as a potential therapeutic target in cancer.\n "}]}, {"type": "rg", "children": [{"type": "r", "ref": 1, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Alisa J Piekny, Michael Glotzer "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Anillin is a scaffold protein that links RhoA, actin, and myosin during cytokinesis."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Curr Biol (2008)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/j.cub.2007.11.068"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2007.11.068"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "18158243"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18158243"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 2, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Mark Petronczki, Michael Glotzer, Norbert Kraut, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Polo-like kinase 1 triggers the initiation of cytokinesis in human cells by promoting recruitment of the RhoGEF Ect2 to the central spindle."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Dev Cell (2007)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/j.devcel.2007.03.013"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.devcel.2007.03.013"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "17488623"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17488623"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 3, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Helen K Matthews, Ulysse Delabre, Jennifer L Rohn, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Changes in Ect2 localization couple actomyosin-dependent cell shape changes to mitotic progression."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Dev Cell (2012)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/j.devcel.2012.06.003"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.devcel.2012.06.003"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "22898780"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22898780"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 4, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Kuan-Chung Su, Tohru Takaki, Mark Petronczki "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Targeting of the RhoGEF Ect2 to the equatorial membrane controls cleavage furrow formation during cytokinesis."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Dev Cell (2011)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/j.devcel.2011.11.003"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.devcel.2011.11.003"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "22172673"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22172673"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 5, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "F Niiya, T Tatsumoto, K S Lee, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Phosphorylation of the cytokinesis regulator ECT2 at G2/M phase stimulates association of the mitotic kinase Plk1 and accumulation of GTP-bound RhoA."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Oncogene (2006)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1038/sj.onc.1209124"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.onc.1209124"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "16247472"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16247472"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 6, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Ja-Eun Kim, Daniel D Billadeau, Junjie Chen "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "The tandem BRCT domains of Ect2 are required for both negative and positive regulation of Ect2 in cytokinesis."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Biol Chem (2005)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1074/jbc.M409298200"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M409298200"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "15545273"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15545273"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 7, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Verline Justilien, Syed A Ali, Lee Jamieson, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Ect2-Dependent rRNA Synthesis Is Required for KRAS-TRP53-Driven Lung Adenocarcinoma."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Cancer Cell (2017)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/j.ccell.2016.12.010"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ccell.2016.12.010"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "28110998"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28110998"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 8, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Jianxiang Chen, Hongping Xia, Xiaoqian Zhang, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "ECT2 regulates the Rho/ERK signalling axis to promote early recurrence in human hepatocellular carcinoma."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Hepatol (2015)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/j.jhep.2015.01.014"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhep.2015.01.014"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "25617497"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25617497"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 9, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Daizaburo Hirata, Takumi Yamabuki, Daiki Miki, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Involvement of epithelial cell transforming sequence-2 oncoantigen in lung and esophageal cancer progression."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Clin Cancer Res (2009)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-08-1672"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-08-1672"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "19118053"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19118053"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 10, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Bodour Salhia, Nhan L Tran, Amanda Chan, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "The guanine nucleotide exchange factors trio, Ect2, and Vav3 mediate the invasive behavior of glioblastoma."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Am J Pathol (2008)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.2353/ajpath.2008.080043"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.2353/ajpath.2008.080043"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "19008376"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19008376"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 11, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Lawrence T Reiter, Tiffany N Seagroves, Megan Bowers, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Expression of the Rho-GEF Pbl/ECT2 is regulated by the UBE3A E3 ubiquitin ligase."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Hum Mol Genet (2006)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1093/hmg/ddl225"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1093/hmg/ddl225"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "16905559"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16905559"}]}]}]}
Synonyms	ARHGEF31
Proteins	ECT2_HUMAN
NCBI Gene ID	1894
API
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Predicted Functions
Co-expressed Genes
Expression in Tissues and Cell Lines

Functional Associations

ECT2 has 10,878 functional associations with biological entities spanning 8 categories (molecular profile, organism, chemical, functional term, phrase or reference, disease, phenotype or trait, structural feature, cell line, cell type or tissue, gene, protein or microRNA) extracted from 128 datasets.

Click the + buttons to view associations for ECT2 from the datasets below.

If available, associations are ranked by standardized value

Harmonizome 3.0

ECT2 Gene

Functional Associations

Please acknowledge the Harmonizome in your publications by citing the following reference(s):

	Dataset	Summary
	Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of ECT2 gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of ECT2 gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Aging Dementia and Traumatic Brain Injury Tissue Sample Gene Expression Profiles	tissue samples with high or low expression of ECT2 gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Aging Dementia and Traumatic Brain Injury Tissue Sample Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray	tissue samples with high or low expression of ECT2 gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by RNA-seq	tissue samples with high or low expression of ECT2 gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by RNA-seq dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of ECT2 gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of ECT2 gene relative to other cell lines from the BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	cell types and tissues with high or low expression of ECT2 gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Mouse Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	cell types and tissues with high or low expression of ECT2 gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Mouse Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Carcinogenome Chemical Perturbation Carcinogenicity Signatures	small molecule perturbations changing expression of ECT2 gene from the Carcinogenome Chemical Perturbation Carcinogenicity Signatures dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles	cell lines with high or low copy number of ECT2 gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of ECT2 gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Proteomics	Cell lines associated with ECT2 protein from the CCLE Cell Line Proteomics dataset.
	CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations	cell types associated with ECT2 gene from the CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles	transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of ECT2 gene from the CHEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of ECT2 gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022	transcription factors binding the promoter of ECT2 gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022 dataset.
	CM4AI U2OS Cell Map Protein Localization Assemblies	assemblies containing ECT2 protein from integrated AP-MS and IF data from the CM4AI U2OS Cell Map Protein Localization Assemblies dataset.
	CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules	small molecule perturbations changing expression of ECT2 gene from the CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components containing ECT2 protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components containing ECT2 protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Experimental Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components containing ECT2 protein in low- or high-throughput protein localization assays from the COMPARTMENTS Experimental Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components co-occuring with ECT2 protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components co-occuring with ECT2 protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles	cell lines with high or low copy number of ECT2 gene relative to other cell lines from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles	cell lines with ECT2 gene mutations from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles dataset.
	CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions	chemicals interacting with ECT2 gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions dataset.
	CTD Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with ECT2 gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	DeepCoverMOA Drug Mechanisms of Action	small molecule perturbations with high or low expression of ECT2 protein relative to other small molecule perturbations from the DeepCoverMOA Drug Mechanisms of Action dataset.
	DISEASES Curated Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores	diseases involving ECT2 gene from the DISEASES Curated Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores dataset.
	DISEASES Curated Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025	diseases involving ECT2 gene from the DISEASES Curated Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025	diseases associated with ECT2 gene in GWAS datasets from the DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores	diseases co-occuring with ECT2 gene in abstracts of biomedical publications from the DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores dataset.
	DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025	diseases co-occuring with ECT2 gene in abstracts of biomedical publications from the DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with ECT2 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Phenotype Associations	phenotypes associated with ECT2 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Phenoptype Associations dataset.
	ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles	histone modification site profiles with high histone modification abundance at ECT2 gene from the ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles	transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of ECT2 gene from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of ECT2 gene in ChIP-seq datasets from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
	ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells	PubMedIDs of publications reporting gene signatures containing ECT2 from the ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells dataset.