Studies on the iodination of a ras protein and the detection of ras polymers

Pharmacological targeting of RAS: Recent success with direct inhibitors

RAS has long been viewed as undruggable due to its lack of deep pockets for binding of small molecule inhibitors. However, recent successes in the development of direct RAS inhibitors suggest that the goal of pharmacological inhibition of RAS in patients may soon be realized. This review will discuss the role of RAS in cancer, the approaches used to develop direct RAS inhibitors, and highlight recent successes in the development of novel RAS inhibitory compounds that target different aspects of RAS biochemistry. In particular, this review will discuss the different properties of RAS that have been targeted by various inhibitors including membrane localization, the different activation states of RAS, effector binding, and nucleotide exchange. In addition, this review will highlight the recent success with mutation-specific inhibitors that exploit the unique biochemistry of the RAS(G12C) mutant. Although this mutation in KRAS accounts for 11% of all KRAS mutations in cancer, it is the most prominent KRAS mutant in lung cancer suggesting that G12C-specific inhibitors may provide a new approach for treating the subset of lung cancer patients harboring this mutant allele. Finally, this review will discuss the involvement of dimerization in RAS function and highlight new approaches to inhibit RAS by specifically interfering with RAS:RAS interaction.

Two-dimensional mapping and microsequencing of lysosomal proteins from human placenta

Lysosomes degrade a wide range of macromolecules to yield monomer products which are exported out of the lysosome by a series of transporters. In addition, lysosomes perform a range of other functions which are cell or tissue specific. In order to gain insight into the tissue specific role of lysosomes, carrier-ampholyte two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) was used in combination with N-terminal sequencing to identify the major proteins present in both the membrane and luminal space of placental lysosomes. From the 45 N-terminal peptide sequences generated, 14 luminal and five membrane proteins were identified while three other sequences were novel. The sequenced proteins were a mixture of lysosomal and non-lysosomal proteins. The lysosomal proteins consisted of gamma-interferon-inducible protein (IP-30), Saposin D, cathepsins B and D, beta-hexosaminidase, palmitoyl protein thioesterase, alpha-glucosidase, and LAMP-1. The non-lysosomal proteins were serum albumin, serotransferrin, haemoglobin gamma G chain, alpha-1-antitrypsin, placental lactogen, endoplasmin, peptide binding protein 74, p60 lymphocyte protein, p450 side chain cleavage enzyme and placental alkaline phosphatase. The 2-DE maps obtained in this study are the first to identify the major proteins in both the lumen and membrane of placental lysosomes through sequence analysis, and thus provide the basis upon which to build a complete 2-DE database of the lysosome. Furthermore, the identities of the proteins sequenced from the placental lysosomes suggest a role for lysosomes in the transport of nutrients across the trophoblastic layer.

Development of a two-dimensional gel electrophoresis database of human lysosomal proteins

Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis databases have been generated for a range of tissue cell and fluid types, from a number of species. A major difficulty in the development of such databases is the large number of proteins present in even a single cell type (> 10,000) and the low levels of many of these proteins. One approach to overcome these difficulties is to fractionate the cell into its organelles and generate individual databases for each subcellular component. This has the added advantage of assigning a cellular location to each protein identified. Here we report the development of a two-dimensional gel electrophoresis database of lysosomal proteins.

Detection of a 65 kDa ras binding protein in rat and sheep brain cytosol using a chemical cross linking agent

The ability of a ras protein to associate with proteins present in rat brain cytosol in vitro was investigated using chemical cross-linking agents and the 125I-labelled v-H-ras protein. Two iodinated protein complexes with apparent molecular weights of 40 and 85 kDa were observed when a mixture of rat brain cytosol and [125I] ras was treated with the cross-linking agent disuccinimidyl suberate and subjected to SDS-PAGE. Formation of the [125I] Formation of the[125I] 85 kDa complex was enhanced by a high concentration of EDTA while generation of the 40 kDa species was abolished by this treatment. Formation of the [125I] 85 kDa complex was inhibited by unlabelled ras protein, GTP, GTP gamma S, and GDP but not by ATP gamma S and GMP. Chromatography of the cross-linked brain cytosol[125I] ras mixture on DEAE cellulose partially resolved the [125I] 85 kDa complex from the [125I] ras protein. The [125I] 85 kDa complex (formed using ethyleneglycolbis (succinimidylsuccinate) as the cross-linking agent) could be immunoprecipitated using a rabbit anti-ras polyclonal antibody. Treatment of the immunoprecipitate with hydroxylamine to cleave the cross-link yielded [125]I-labelled ras. A substantial enrichment of the proportion of the [125I] 85 kDa complex in the cross-linked extract was achieved by preparative SDS-PAGE. It is concluded that the in vitro chemical cross-linking approach employed here has detected two ras binding proteins in rat brain cytosol: a 65 kDa heat-sensitive and a 20 kDa heat-stable protein.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Purification of histidine-tagged ras and its use in the detection of ras binding proteins

Recombinant histidine-tagged v-Ha-ras (his-ras) was purified to homogeneity from extracts of E. coli M15 using a one-step procedure which involved immobilised metal ion chromatography on Ni(2+)-nitriloacetic acid agarose (Ni-NTA). The optimal pH for elution by imidazole was 6.6 and the yield of his-ras protein (greater than 95% pure) was about 4 mg/litre E. coli culture. Chromatography of a mixture of purified his-ras and rat brain cytosol on Ni-NTA together with SDS-PAGE and silver staining of proteins were employed to search for ras-binding proteins present in rat brain cytosol. Chromatography of rat brain cytosol alone on Ni-NTA revealed several protein species which were not readily eluted with imidazole. These are likely to be low-abundance brain metal ion binding proteins. Pre-treatment of rat brain cytosol with Ni-NTA before a second round of chromatography on Ni-NTA removed most of these proteins. Chromatography of a mixture of pre-treated rat brain cytosol and purified his-ras protein revealed four new protein bands with molecular weights of 250, 90, 80 and 70 kDa. These were considered to be candidate ras-binding proteins. It is concluded that the use of his-ras and immobilised metal ion chromatography does provide an approach which can be used to identify ras binding proteins present in cellular extracts.