Direct Inhibitors of Ras-Effector Protein Interactions

Title:Direct Inhibitors of Ras-Effector Protein Interactions

Volume: 16 Issue: 5

Author(s): Punit Upadhyaya, Walaa Bedewy and Dehua Pei

Affiliation:

Keywords: Cancer, Cell signaling, Inhibition, Macrocycles, Protein-protein interaction, Ras.

Abstract: Activating Ras mutations are associated with ~30% of all human cancers, which often respond poorly to standard therapies. The four Ras isoforms are therefore highly attractive targets for anticancer drug discovery. However, Ras proteins function through protein-protein interactions and their surfaces lack any major pockets for small molecules to bind; as a result they have been declared “undruggable” for the past 30 years. Several breakthroughs during the past few years may finally remove Ras from the list of undruggable proteins. This mini-review discusses the current approaches to developing inhibitors especially cyclic peptides that physically block the interaction between Ras and its downstream effector proteins, which is potentially the most effective approach for treating Ras mutant cancers.

Cite this article as:

Upadhyaya Punit, Bedewy Walaa and Pei Dehua, Direct Inhibitors of Ras-Effector Protein Interactions, Mini-Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry 2016; 16 (5) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1389557515666151001141713