(rat sarcoma) is one of the most frequently mutated gene families in cancer, encoding proteins classified as small GTPases. Mutations in RAS proteins result in abnormal activation of the RAS signaling pathway, a key driver in the initiation and progression of various malignancies. Consequently, targeting RAS proteins and the RAS signaling pathway has become a critical strategy in anticancer therapy. While RAS was historically considered an "undruggable" target, recent breakthroughs have yielded inhibitors specifically targeting KRAS and KRAS mutations, which have shown clinical efficacy in patients. However, these inhibitors face limitations due to rapid acquired resistance and the toxic effects of combination therapies in clinical settings. Targeted protein degradation (TPD) strategies, such as PROTACs and molecular glues, provide a novel approach by selectively degrading RAS proteins, or their upstream and downstream regulatory factors, to block aberrant signaling pathways. These degraders offer a promising alternative to traditional inhibitors by potentially circumventing resistance and enhancing therapeutic precision. This review discusses recent advancements in RAS pathway degraders, with an emphasis on targeting RAS mutations as well as their upstream regulators and downstream effectors for potential cancer treatments.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17568919.2025.2476387 | DOI Listing |
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
March 2025
Laboratorio 1. Centro de Investigación del Cáncer, Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular del Cáncer, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-Universidad de Salamanca and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Cáncer (CIBERONC), Salamanca 37007, Spain.
We evaluated the in vivo therapeutic efficacy and tolerability of BI-3406-mediated pharmacological inhibition of SOS1 in comparison to genetic ablation of this universal Ras-GEF in various KRAS-dependent experimental tumor settings. Contrary to the rapid lethality caused by SOS1 genetic ablation in SOS2 mice, SOS1 pharmacological inhibition by its specific inhibitor BI-3406 did not significantly affect animal weight/viability nor cause noteworthy systemic toxicity. Allograft assays using different KRAS cell lines showed that treatment with BI-3406 impaired RAS activation and RAS downstream signaling and decreased tumor burden and disease progression as a result of both tumor-intrinsic and -extrinsic therapeutic effects of the drug.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Exp Med
June 2025
Department of Pathology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
Leukemia-driving mutations are thought to arise in hematopoietic stem cells (HSC), yet the natural history of their spread is poorly understood. We genetically induced mutations within endogenous murine HSC and traced them in unmanipulated animals. In contrast to mutations associated with clonal hematopoiesis (such as Tet2 deletion), the leukemogenic KrasG12D mutation dramatically accelerated HSC contribution to all hematopoietic lineages.
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March 2025
Research Department, Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland, Busaiteen, Adliya P.O. Box 15503, Bahrain.
: Rat sarcoma (Ras) proteins, Kirsten, Harvey, and Neuroblastoma rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KRAS, HRAS, and NRAS, respectively), are a family of GTPases, which are key regulators of cellular growth, differentiation, and apoptosis through signal transduction pathways modulated by growth factors that have been recognized to be dysregulated in PCOS. This study explores Ras signaling proteins and growth factor-related proteins in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). : In a well-validated PCOS database of 147 PCOS and 97 control women, plasma was batch analyzed using Somascan proteomic analysis for circulating KRas, Ras GTPase-activating protein-1 (RASA1), and 45 growth factor-related proteins.
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February 2025
Department of Gastroenterology and Internal Medicine, Medical University of Bialystok, 15-276 Bialystok, Poland.
An association between gut microbiota and the development of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has been previously described. To better understand the bacterial microbiota changes accompanying PDAC promotion and progression stimulated by inflammation and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), we investigated stool and pancreatic microbiota by 16s RNA-based metagenomic analysis in mice with inducible acinar transgenic expressions of KrasG12D, and age- and sex-matched control mice that were exposed to inflammatory stimuli and fecal microbiota obtained from mice with PDAC. Time- and inflammatory-dependent stool and pancreatic bacterial composition alterations and stool alpha microbiota diversity reduction were observed only in mice with a Kras mutation that developed advanced pancreatic changes.
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February 2025
Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Wroclaw Medical University, Borowska 211a, 50-556 Wroclaw, Poland.
Several molecular pathways are likely involved in the regulation of cancer stem cells (CSCs) via Ras-associated C3 botulinum toxin substrate 2, RAC2, and pituitary tumor-transforming gene 1 product, PTTG1, given their roles in cellular signaling, survival, proliferation, and metastasis. RAC2 is a member of the Rho GTPase family and plays a crucial role in actin cytoskeleton dynamics, reactive oxygen species production, and cell migration, contributing to epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), immune evasion, and therapy resistance. PTTG1, also known as human securin, regulates key processes such as cell cycle progression, apoptosis suppression, and EMT, promoting metastasis and enhancing cancer cell survival.
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