Targeting a key driver of cancer

In a recent breakthrough, a team led by UCSF’s Kevan Shokat was able to exploit a previously unknown “Achilles heel” in K-Ras, part of a family of protein mutations that’s responsible for many cancers. The team discovered a binding site, or “pocket,” where they could design a chemical compound (shown in color) to attach to K-Ras and inhibit its activity. Credit: Shokat Lab

In the epic fight against cancer, a protein called Ras has been one of the arch-villains. First identified in human cancers in the 1980s, this protein is responsible for roughly one-third of all cases, as well as some of the deadliest, including lung, colon and pancreatic cancers.

Ras is a key switch in a multi-step cascade of molecular interactions that take place within cells. Mutations in Ras proteins can result in excessive signals for cells to proliferate and cause them to ignore cues for programmed cell death, leading…