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RAF-MEK-ERK pathway in cancer evolution and treatment
Abstract
The RAF-MEK-ERK signaling cascade is a well-characterized MAPK pathway involved in cell proliferation and survival. The three-layered MAPK signaling cascade is initiated upon RTK and RAS activation. Three RAF isoforms ARAF, BRAF and CRAF, and their downstream MEK1/2 and ERK1/2 kinases constitute a coherently orchestrated signaling module that directs a range of physiological functions. Genetic alterations in this pathway are among the most prevalent in human cancers, which consist of numerous hot-spot mutations such as BRAF V600E. Oncogenic mutations in this pathway often override otherwise tightly regulated checkpoints to open the door for uncontrolled cell growth and neoplasia. The crosstalk between the RAF-MEK-ERK axis and other signaling pathways further extends the proliferative potential of this pathway in human cancers. In this review, we summarize the molecular architecture and physiological functions of the RAF-MEK-ERK pathway with emphasis on its dysregulations in human cancers, as well as the efforts made to target the RAF-MEK-ERK module using small molecule inhibitors.
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“Activated RAS proteins can interact with many downstream effector proteins, such as RAF kinase, son of sevenless (SOS), phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and Ral guanine nucleotide dissociation stimulating factors (RalGDS), which regulate cell events such as cell proliferation and apoptosis.323–325”
From Recent advances in targeting the “undruggable” proteins: from drug discovery to clinical trials (2023) · cites this paper as [325]
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BackgroundInfluentialRecent insights into the roles and therapeutic potentials of GLS1 in inflammatory diseases
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KRAS mutations in colorectal cancer: impacts on tumor microenvironment and therapeutic implications
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“This phosphorylation regulates various fundamental physiological processes, including cell growth, differentiation, multiplication, migration, apoptosis, motility, and angiogenesis, by modulating gene expression states [38,39].”
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“Activated ERK translocates to the nucleus, where it regulates the transcription of genes involved in oncogenic signaling (Ullah et al., 2022).”
Advances in SEMA3F regulation of clinically high-incidence cancers
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“The RAS-RAF-MEK-ERK signaling axis, a signaling modality of the MAPK pathway, regu-134 lates physiological processes such as cell proliferation, growth, and differentiation [91,92].”
CD271 promotes proliferation and migration in bladder cancer
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“ERK is a well-known MAP kinase (Ullah et al., 2022), and ERK inhibitors decrease bladder cancer proliferation (Kumar et al., 2009).”
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“MAP2K1, also known as MEK1, belongs to the mitogen-extracellular activated protein kinase kinase (MEK) family and is widely involved in cell survival and proliferation [26, 27].”
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“It is a crucial component of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signalling pathway [10–13].”
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“It is currently known to be comprised of three sub-pathways: ERK [37], JNK [38], and p38 [39].”
Special issue: Targeting cellular signaling pathways for cancer therapy
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“One such pathway is the RAF-MEK-ERK signaling cascade, which plays a critical role in cell proliferation and survival [36].”
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“Dysregulation in these pathways can result in uncontrolled cell growth and proliferation, thus leading to various types of cancer (Ullah et al. 2022).”
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“This pathway is crucial for regulating cell growth, differentia - tion, and survival, and it plays a key role in the progression and drug resistance of various types of cancer (Ullah et al. 2022).”
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“40,41 As a critical constituent of the MAPK pathway, BRAF has been detected as driver mutation in several tumor types, including melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC).”
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“The phosphorylation signaling cascade of the classical MAPK pathway, including Raf/MEK/ERK, is significantly inhibited [12,19].”
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“Activation of the MAPK cascade is the major driver of cell proliferation in various cancers [66,71], and its effective suppression is often characterized by the reduced ability of cells to enter the DNA synthesis phase of the cell cycle [70].”
Hu, Z., Zhou, Y., Xie, L., Zhang, W., & Rao, H. (2025) · Clinical and Experimental Medicine · doi:10.1007/s10238-025-01925-3 · Cited by 2
“These pathways are typically activated by distinct extracellular cues, leading to a stepwise activation of MAPK kinases that mediate the transmission of extracellular and intracellular signals to regulate multiple cell behaviors [5].”
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Metadata
- Authors
- Ullah, R., Yin, Q., Snell, A. H., & Wan, L.
- Affiliations
- Moffitt Cancer Center (US)
- Corresponding author
- Wan, Lixin
- Venue
- Seminars in Cancer Biology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2022-10
- Volume
- 85
- Pages
- 123-154
- ISSN
- 1044-579X (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3160873367
- Cited by
- 553
- References
- 506
- Citations by year
- 2026: 123 · 2025: 164 · 2024: 173 · 2023: 69 · 2022: 19
- FWCI
- 7.08
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- Seminars in Cancer Biology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Melanoma Research Alliance
- Florida Department of Health
- American Cancer Society
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Melanoma and MAPK Pathways
- 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
- Keywords
- Raf/MEK/ERK pathway, MAPK signaling, BRAF V600E mutation, Raf isoforms, MEK1/2, ERK1/2, Ras activation, receptor tyrosine kinase signaling, tumor evolution, cancer therapy, small molecule inhibitors, signaling crosstalk, oncogenic mutations
- MeSH terms
- Humans, Neoplasms, Signal Transduction, Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases, MAP Kinase Signaling System, Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases, Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf
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