Proteins in the RAS family are important regulators of cellular signaling and, when mutated, can drive cancer pathogenesis. Despite considerable effort over the last 30 years, RAS proteins have proven to be recalcitrant therapeutic targets. One approach for modulating RAS signaling is to target proteins that interact with RAS, such as the guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) son of sevenless homologue 1 (SOS1). Here, we report hit-to-lead studies on quinazoline-containing compounds that bind to SOS1 and activate nucleotide exchange on RAS. Using structure-based design, we refined the substituents attached to the quinazoline nucleus and built in additional interactions not present in the initial HTS hit. Optimized compounds activate nucleotide exchange at single-digit micromolar concentrations in vitro. In HeLa cells, these quinazolines increase the levels of RAS-GTP and cause signaling changes in the mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular regulated kinase (MAPK/ERK) pathway.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsmedchemlett.8b00296 | DOI Listing |
Nat Commun
January 2025
Life Sciences Institute, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada.
The heterodimeric Rab3GAP complex is a guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) for the Rab18 GTPase that regulates lipid droplet metabolism, ER-to-Golgi trafficking, secretion, and autophagy. Why both subunits of Rab3GAP are required for Rab18 GEF activity and the molecular basis of how Rab3GAP engages and activates its cognate substrate are unknown. Here we show that human Rab3GAP is conformationally flexible and potentially autoinhibited by the C-terminal domain of its Rab3GAP2 subunit.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Biol Macromol
January 2025
Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China. Electronic address:
The small GTPase Ras is among the most frequently mutated genes and its mutations often drive oncogenesis across various cancers. While the role of NRas phosphorylation at S89 in the context of a Q61R mutation in melanoma genesis remains controversial, the impact of S89 phosphorylation on NRas function has not been fully elucidated. In this study, we employed the S89D phosphorylation-mimetic mutation and demonstrated that the S89D mutation alone activated all Ras isoforms by increasing the GTP-bound population, thereby promoting ERK phosphorylation and cell proliferation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Cell Sci
January 2025
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131, Mexico.
The Rab11-Rabin8-Rab8 ciliogenesis complex regulates the expansion of cilia-derived light-sensing organelles, the rod outer segments, via post-Golgi rhodopsin transport carriers (RTCs). Rabin8, an effector of Rab11 and a nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) for Rab8, is phosphorylated at S272 by NDR2 kinase (aka STK38L), a canine erd gene product linked to the human ciliopathy Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA). Here, we define the step at which NDR2 phosphorylated Rabin8 regulates Rab11-Rab8 succession in X.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTheor Appl Genet
January 2025
State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Resistance and High-Efficiency Production and College of Agronomy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China.
112 candidate quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and 53 key candidate genes have been identified as associated with stomatal traits in wheat. These include bHLH, MADS-box transcription factors, and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs). Stomata is a common feature of the leaf surface of plants and serve as vital conduits for the exchange of gases (primarily CO₂ and water vapor) between plants and the external environment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlants (Basel)
December 2024
School of Advanced Engineering Studies, Institute of Biotechnology, Bioengineering and Food Systems, FEFU, 10 Ajax Bay, 690922 Vladivostok, Russia.
Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) of the PhoA family is an important enzyme in mammals, microalgae, and certain marine bacteria. It plays a crucial role in the dephosphorylation of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and nucleotides, which overstimulate cell signaling pathways and cause tissue inflammation in animals and humans. Insufficient ALP activity and expression levels have been linked to various disorders.
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