Regulation of Cancer-Causing Protein KRas Could Create Target Therapies for Patients with Mutation

A recent study looks at how the regulation of a newly-discovered cancer-causing protein known as KRas could potentially help to develop targeted therapies for those carrying the KRas mutation.

According to researchers from the Cincinnati Cancer Center (CCC) and the University of Cincinnati Cancer Institute, they believe that the pharmacologic targeting of KRas as a cancer therapy has been challenging, but their findings provide hope for the future.

"The mutation of a KRas gene is an essential step in the development of many cancers," said lead study author Atsuo Sasaki, PhD, a member of the CCC, via a press release. "In fact, the KRas mutation is present in more than 90 percent of patients with pancreatic cancer, and other research has shown that lung and colon cancers have prevalent mutations of this gene as well.

"Researchers in academia and industry have been trying to target KRas pharmaceutically for many years without significant success. In this study, we took a unique approach. We use a social amoeboid-a powerful model system to study Ras signaling and look at the KRas regulation."

For the study, researchers introducted the oncogenic KRas gene into the social amoeboid and then compared its regulation to that of the normal KRas gene.

"We discovered that the cell has a system to recognize the oncogenic KRas and break it down," he says. "This clearance system led to ubiquitination on oncogenic KRas-which means it is being chopped and trashed. 

"With this knowledge, we could increase the clearance of mutated KRas from cancer cells; next steps include finding the gene or protein that starts this process. With this additional piece of the puzzle, we're one step closer to finding a targeted therapy for various cancer types that harbor KRas mutations."

More information regarding the study can be found via the Journal of Biological Chemistry.