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Wang P, Laster K, Jia X, Dong Z, Liu K. Targeting CRAF kinase in anti-cancer therapy: progress and opportunities. Mol Cancer 2023; 22:208. [PMID: 38111008 PMCID: PMC10726672 DOI: 10.1186/s12943-023-01903-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2023] [Accepted: 11/16/2023] [Indexed: 12/20/2023] Open
Abstract
The RAS/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling cascade is commonly dysregulated in human malignancies by processes driven by RAS or RAF oncogenes. Among the members of the RAF kinase family, CRAF plays an important role in the RAS-MAPK signaling pathway, as well as in the progression of cancer. Recent research has provided evidence implicating the role of CRAF in the physiological regulation and the resistance to BRAF inhibitors through MAPK-dependent and MAPK-independent mechanisms. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of solely targeting CRAF kinase activity remains controversial. Moreover, the kinase-independent function of CRAF may be essential for lung cancers with KRAS mutations. It is imperative to develop strategies to enhance efficacy and minimize toxicity in tumors driven by RAS or RAF oncogenes. The review investigates CRAF alterations observed in cancers and unravels the distinct roles of CRAF in cancers propelled by diverse oncogenes. This review also seeks to summarize CRAF-interacting proteins and delineate CRAF's regulation across various cancer hallmarks. Additionally, we discuss recent advances in pan-RAF inhibitors and their combination with other therapeutic approaches to improve treatment outcomes and minimize adverse effects in patients with RAF/RAS-mutant tumors. By providing a comprehensive understanding of the multifaceted role of CRAF in cancers and highlighting the latest developments in RAF inhibitor therapies, we endeavor to identify synergistic targets and elucidate resistance pathways, setting the stage for more robust and safer combination strategies for cancer treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Penglei Wang
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450000, China
- Tianjian Laboratory for Advanced Biomedical Sciences, Zhengzhou, 450052, Henan, China
- China-US (Henan) Hormel Cancer Institute, Zhengzhou, 450000, China
| | - Kyle Laster
- China-US (Henan) Hormel Cancer Institute, Zhengzhou, 450000, China
| | - Xuechao Jia
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450000, China
- Tianjian Laboratory for Advanced Biomedical Sciences, Zhengzhou, 450052, Henan, China
- China-US (Henan) Hormel Cancer Institute, Zhengzhou, 450000, China
| | - Zigang Dong
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450000, China.
- Tianjian Laboratory for Advanced Biomedical Sciences, Zhengzhou, 450052, Henan, China.
- China-US (Henan) Hormel Cancer Institute, Zhengzhou, 450000, China.
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, China-US (Henan) Hormel Cancer Institute, AMS, College of Medicine, Zhengzhou University, 100 Kexue Avenue, Zhengzhou, 450001, Henan, China.
| | - Kangdong Liu
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450000, China.
- Tianjian Laboratory for Advanced Biomedical Sciences, Zhengzhou, 450052, Henan, China.
- China-US (Henan) Hormel Cancer Institute, Zhengzhou, 450000, China.
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, China-US (Henan) Hormel Cancer Institute, AMS, College of Medicine, Zhengzhou University, 100 Kexue Avenue, Zhengzhou, 450001, Henan, China.
- Basic Medicine Sciences Research Center, Academy of Medical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, Henan, China.
- State Key Laboratory of Esophageal Cancer Prevention and Treatment, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450000, Henan, China.
- Provincial Cooperative Innovation Center for Cancer Chemoprevention, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450000, Henan, China.
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Zell D, Dalziel ME, Carrera DE, Stumpf A, Bachmann S, Mercado-Marin E, Koenig SG, Zhang H, Gosselin F. An Efficient Second-Generation Manufacturing Process for the pan-RAF Inhibitor Belvarafenib. Org Process Res Dev 2021. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.oprd.1c00277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Zell
- Department of Small Molecule Process Chemistry, Genentech, Inc., 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
| | - Michael E. Dalziel
- Department of Small Molecule Process Chemistry, Genentech, Inc., 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
| | - Diane E. Carrera
- Department of Small Molecule Process Chemistry, Genentech, Inc., 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
| | - Andreas Stumpf
- Department of Small Molecule Process Chemistry, Genentech, Inc., 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
| | - Stephan Bachmann
- Department of Process Chemistry and Catalysis, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Grenzacherstrasse 124, CH-4070 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Eduardo Mercado-Marin
- Department of Small Molecule Process Chemistry, Genentech, Inc., 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
| | - Stefan G. Koenig
- Department of Small Molecule Process Chemistry, Genentech, Inc., 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
| | - Haiming Zhang
- Department of Small Molecule Process Chemistry, Genentech, Inc., 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
| | - Francis Gosselin
- Department of Small Molecule Process Chemistry, Genentech, Inc., 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
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Tosstorff A, Cole JC, Bartelt R, Kuhn B. Augmenting Structure-Based Design with Experimental Protein-Ligand Interaction Data: Molecular Recognition, Interactive Visualization, and Rescoring. ChemMedChem 2021; 16:3428-3438. [PMID: 34342128 DOI: 10.1002/cmdc.202100387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
The previously introduced ratio of frequencies (RF ) framework provides statistically sound information on the relative interaction preferences of atoms in crystal structures. By applying the methodology to protein-ligand complexes, we can investigate the significance of interactions that are employed in structure-based drug design. Here, we revisit three aspects of molecular recognition in the light of the RF framework, namely stacking interactions of heteroaromatic rings with protein amide groups, interactions of acidified C-H groups, and interaction differences between syn and anti lone pairs of carboxylate groups. In addition, we introduce a highly interactive visualization tool that facilitates design idea generation in structure-enabled drug discovery projects. Finally, we show that applying the RF analysis as a simple rescoring tool after docking improves enrichment factors for the DUD-E diverse targets subset supporting the relevance of our approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Tosstorff
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Grenzacherstrasse 124, 4070, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Jason C Cole
- Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre, 12 Union Road, Cambridge, CB2 1EZ, UK
| | - Richard Bartelt
- Chemical Computing Group, Kaiser-Wilhelm-Ring 11, 50672, Cologne, Germany
| | - Bernd Kuhn
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Grenzacherstrasse 124, 4070, Basel, Switzerland
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