RAS proteins regulate most aspects of cellular physiology. They are mutated in 30% of human cancers and 4% of developmental disorders termed Rasopathies. They cycle between active GTP-bound and inactive GDP-bound states. When active, they can interact with a wide range of effectors that control fundamental biochemical and biological processes. Emerging evidence suggests that RAS proteins are not simple on/off switches but sophisticated information processing devices that compute cell fate decisions by integrating external and internal cues. A critical component of this compute function is the dynamic regulation of RAS activation and downstream signaling that allows RAS to produce a rich and nuanced spectrum of biological outputs. We discuss recent findings how the dynamics of RAS and its downstream signaling is regulated. Starting from the structural and biochemical properties of wild-type and mutant RAS proteins and their activation cycle, we examine higher molecular assemblies, effector interactions and downstream signaling outputs, all under the aspect of dynamic regulation. We also consider how computational and mathematical modeling approaches contribute to analyze and understand the pleiotropic functions of RAS in health and disease.
Keywords: RAS proteins; biological networks; cancer; dynamics; signaling.
© 2023 The Author(s).