Cited by 1,943Protein Kinase Regulation and GTPase SignalingProtein Tyrosine PhosphatasesCellular transport and secretion

RAS Proteins and Their Regulators in Human Disease

Open access
Simanshu, Dhirendra K., Nissley, Dwight V., McCormick, Frank·2017·Cell

Abstract

RAS proteins are binary switches, cycling between ON and OFF states during signal transduction. These switches are normally tightly controlled, but in RAS-related diseases, such as cancer, RASopathies, and many psychiatric disorders, mutations in the RAS genes or their regulators render RAS proteins persistently active. The structural basis of the switch and many of the pathways that RAS controls are well known, but the precise mechanisms by which RAS proteins function are less clear. All RAS biology occurs in membranes: a precise understanding of RAS' interaction with membranes is essential to understand RAS action and to intervene in RAS-driven diseases.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.cell.2017.06.009

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  • Farnesylation at the position 185 cysteine residue results in KRAS anchoring at the plasma membrane, initiating the activation of KRAS and its downstream signaling.

    “In particular, farnesylation at the position 185 cysteine residue results in KRAS anchoring at the plasma membrane, initiating the activation of KRAS and its downstream signaling42.”

    From Mechanisms of KRAS inhibitor resistance in KRAS-mutant colorectal cancer harboring Her2 amplification and aberrant KRAS localization (2025) · cites this paper as [42]

    The “RAS Proteins in the Membrane” section says farnesylation of a C-terminal cysteine facilitates membrane association, which is essential for downstream signaling. Our copy does not identify that cysteine as residue 185 or say that farnesylation itself activates KRAS; it also describes additional membrane-targeting and processing steps. Page numbers are unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Post-translational modification of KRAS plays an important role in KRAS-MAPK pathway activation.

    “Post-translational modification of KRAS plays an important role in KRAS–MAPK pathway activation.”
  • KRAS is one of the most frequently mutated oncogenes in cancer, yet efforts to directly target KRAS have been mostly unsuccessful because initial analyses of KRAS proteins indicated that they lack a clear pocket to which small molecules can bind with high affinity.

    “KRAS is one of the most frequently mutated oncogenes in cancer, yet efforts to directly target KRAS have been mostly unsuccessful because initial analyses of KRAS proteins indicated that they lack a clear pocket to which small molecules can bind with high affinity [1, 2].”
  • Distinct KRAS alleles exhibit substantial biochemical and functional heterogeneity.

    “Although KRAS mutations are often collectively classified as a single oncogenic entity, distinct KRAS alleles exhibit substantial biochemical and functional heterogeneity [1,4,12].”
  • Mutational activation of KRAS promotes the initiation and progression of cancers, especially in the colorectum, pancreas, lung, and blood plasma, with varying prevalence of specific activating missense mutations.

    “Mutational activation of KRAS promotes the initiation and progression of cancers, especially in the colorectum, pancreas, lung, and blood plasma, with varying prevalence of specific activating missense mutations.”

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Authors
Simanshu, D. K., Nissley, D. V., & McCormick, F.
Affiliations
  • Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (US)
  • University of California, San Francisco (US)
Corresponding author
McCormick, Frank
Venue
Cell
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2017-06
Volume
170
Issue
1
Pages
17-33
ISSN
0092-8674 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2732767128
Cited by
1,943
References
162
Citations by year
2026: 210 · 2025: 263 · 2024: 276 · 2023: 247 · 2022: 267 · 2021: 247 · 2020: 194 · 2019: 143 · 2018: 82 · 2017: 12
FWCI
11.03
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Cell (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Cancer Institute
  • NIH (HHSN261200800001E)
  • Outstanding Investigator Award (5R35CA197709)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Protein Kinase Regulation and GTPase Signaling
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Cellular transport and secretion
Keywords
Ras proteins, Ras signaling, RASopathies, cancer, mental illness, RAS mutations, signal transduction, membrane binding, Ras activation
MeSH terms
Congenital Abnormalities, Animals, Mental Disorders, Cell Membrane, Humans, Mutation, Neoplasms, Phylogeny, Yeasts, Signal Transduction, ras Proteins

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