Mini reviews in medicinal chemistry
-
For decades, mutant Ras (mut-Ras) proteins have been identified as drivers of multiple cancers including pancreatic, lung, and colon cancers. However, targeting this oncogene has been challenging and no Ras inhibitors are on the market to date. Lately several candidates targeting the downstream pathways of Ras signaling, including PI3K and Raf, were approved for cancer treatment. ⋯ Recently, a variety of compounds have been reported to impair the activity of Ras, and these exciting discoveries reignite the hope for development of novel drugs targeting mut-Ras. In this article, we will review the progress made in this field and the current state-of-the-art technologies to develop Ras inhibitors. Also we will discuss the future direction of targeting Ras.
-
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. ⋯ 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.