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Ilter M, Kasmer R, Jalalypour F, Atilgan C, Topcu O, Karakas N, Sensoy O. Inhibition of mutant RAS-RAF interaction by mimicking structural and dynamic properties of phosphorylated RAS. eLife 2022; 11:79747. [PMID: 36458814 PMCID: PMC9762712 DOI: 10.7554/elife.79747] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2022] [Accepted: 11/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Undruggability of RAS proteins has necessitated alternative strategies for the development of effective inhibitors. In this respect, phosphorylation has recently come into prominence as this reversible post-translational modification attenuates sensitivity of RAS towards RAF. As such, in this study, we set out to unveil the impact of phosphorylation on dynamics of HRASWT and aim to invoke similar behavior in HRASG12D mutant by means of small therapeutic molecules. To this end, we performed molecular dynamics (MD) simulations using phosphorylated HRAS and showed that phosphorylation of Y32 distorted Switch I, hence the RAS/RAF interface. Consequently, we targeted Switch I in HRASG12D by means of approved therapeutic molecules and showed that the ligands enabled detachment of Switch I from the nucleotide-binding pocket. Moreover, we demonstrated that displacement of Switch I from the nucleotide-binding pocket was energetically more favorable in the presence of the ligand. Importantly, we verified computational findings in vitro where HRASG12D/RAF interaction was prevented by the ligand in HEK293T cells that expressed HRASG12D mutant protein. Therefore, these findings suggest that targeting Switch I, hence making Y32 accessible might open up new avenues in future drug discovery strategies that target mutant RAS proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Metehan Ilter
- Graduate School of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Istanbul Medipol UniversityIstanbulTurkey
| | - Ramazan Kasmer
- Medical Biology and Genetics Program, Graduate School for Health Sciences, Istanbul Medipol UniversityIstanbulTurkey,Cancer Research Center, Institute for Health Sciences and Technologies (SABITA), Istanbul Medipol UniversityIstanbulTurkey
| | - Farzaneh Jalalypour
- Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Sabanci UniversityIstanbulTurkey
| | - Canan Atilgan
- Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Sabanci UniversityIstanbulTurkey
| | - Ozan Topcu
- Medical Biology and Genetics Program, Graduate School for Health Sciences, Istanbul Medipol UniversityIstanbulTurkey
| | - Nihal Karakas
- Medical Biology and Genetics Program, Graduate School for Health Sciences, Istanbul Medipol UniversityIstanbulTurkey,Department of Medical Biology, International School of Medicine, Istanbul Medipol UniversityIstanbulTurkey
| | - Ozge Sensoy
- Department of Computer Engineering, School of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Istanbul Medipol UniversityIstanbulTurkey,Regenerative and Restorative Medicine Research Center (REMER), Institute for Health Sciences and Technologies (SABITA), Istanbul Medipol UniversityIstanbulTurkey
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Wang Y, Ji D, Lei C, Chen Y, Qiu Y, Li X, Li M, Ni D, Pu J, Zhang J, Fu Q, Liu Y, Lu S. Mechanistic insights into the effect of phosphorylation on Ras conformational dynamics and its interactions with cell signaling proteins. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2021; 19:1184-1199. [PMID: 33680360 PMCID: PMC7902900 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2021.01.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2020] [Revised: 01/29/2021] [Accepted: 01/30/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Ras undergoes interconversion between the active GTP-bound state and the inactive GDP-bound state. This GTPase cycle, which controls the activities of Ras, is accelerated by Ras GTPase-activating proteins (GAPs) and guanine nucleotide exchange factors (SOS). Oncogenic Ras mutations could affect the GTPase cycle and impair Ras functions. Additionally, Src-induced K-Ras Y32/64 dual phosphorylation has been reported to disrupt GTPase cycle and hinder Ras downstream signaling. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. To address this, we performed molecular dynamics simulations (~30 μs in total) on unphosphorylated and phosphorylated K-Ras4B in GTP- and GDP-bound states, and on their complexes with GTPase cycle regulators (GAP and SOS) and the effector protein Raf. We found that K-Ras4B dual phosphorylation mainly alters the conformation at the nucleotide binding site and creates disorder at the catalytic site, resulting in the enlargement of GDP binding pocket and the retard of Ras-GTP intrinsic hydrolysis. We observed phosphorylation-induced shift in the distribution of Ras-GTP inactive-active sub-states and recognized potential druggable pockets in the phosphorylated Ras-GTP. Moreover, decreased catalytic competence or signal delivery abilities due to reduced binding affinities and/or distorted catalytic conformations of GAP, SOS and Raf were observed. In addition, the allosteric pathway from Ras/Raf interface to the distal Raf L4 loop was compromised by Ras phosphorylation. These results reveal the mechanisms by which phosphorylation influences the intrinsic or GAP/SOS catalyzed transformations between GTP- and GDP-bound states of Ras and its signal transduction to Raf. Our findings project Ras phosphorylation as a target for cancer drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuanhao Wang
- Department of Pathophysiology, Key Laboratory of Cell Differentiation and Apoptosis of Chinese Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
| | - Dong Ji
- Department of Anesthesiology, Changhai Hospital, The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Chaoyu Lei
- Department of Pathophysiology, Key Laboratory of Cell Differentiation and Apoptosis of Chinese Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
| | - Yingfei Chen
- Department of Pathophysiology, Key Laboratory of Cell Differentiation and Apoptosis of Chinese Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
| | - Yuran Qiu
- Department of Pathophysiology, Key Laboratory of Cell Differentiation and Apoptosis of Chinese Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
| | - Xinyi Li
- Department of Pathophysiology, Key Laboratory of Cell Differentiation and Apoptosis of Chinese Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
| | - Mingyu Li
- Department of Pathophysiology, Key Laboratory of Cell Differentiation and Apoptosis of Chinese Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
| | - Duan Ni
- Department of Pathophysiology, Key Laboratory of Cell Differentiation and Apoptosis of Chinese Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
- The Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Jun Pu
- Department of Cardiology, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, School of Medicine, Shanghai 200120, China
| | - Jian Zhang
- Department of Pathophysiology, Key Laboratory of Cell Differentiation and Apoptosis of Chinese Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
- Medicinal Chemistry and Bioinformatics Centre, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
| | - Qiang Fu
- Department of Orthopedics, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, School of Medicine, Shanghai 200080, China
| | - Yaqin Liu
- Medicinal Chemistry and Bioinformatics Centre, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
| | - Shaoyong Lu
- Department of Pathophysiology, Key Laboratory of Cell Differentiation and Apoptosis of Chinese Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
- Medicinal Chemistry and Bioinformatics Centre, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
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