Nature Sub-Journal: RAS Inhibitors Used to Treat More Cancers

The research, published in the journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, focuses on a family of proteins called RAS, which is used in all cancers, especially fatal cancers such as pancreatic cancer and colon.

"A framework for developing RAS inhibitor strategies is urgently needed because recently approved RAS inhibitors, such as sotorasib, are only effective against one specific mutation, and many other RAS mutations can also cause cancer," Kenneth Westover, MD, Radiology Associate Professor of Oncology and Biochemistry, member of the Chemistry and Cancer Research Project of the University of Texas Southwestern Harold C.

Beginning in 2012, Dr.

"Cysteine ​​is a unique amino acid that allows us to use special chemicals to attach drugs irreversibly

The work of his laboratory drove the approval of the KRAS G12C inhibitor sotorasib in May

In the latest research, Westover's laboratory is trying to understand how the oncogenic RAS mutant transmits inappropriate signals from the cell surface to the nucleus

"This structural model is now available to the wider RAS research community

Since the RAS signal depends on the formation of the RAS complex, Dr.

Funding for this research came from the National Cancer Institute, the Department of Defense, and the Texas Cancer Prevention and Research Institute

Journal Reference :

1. Venkatesh P.