Citation

  • Authors: Pamonsinlapatham, P., Hadj-Slimane, R., Raynaud, F., Bickle, M., Corneloup, C., Barthelaix, A., Lepelletier, Y., Mercier, P., Schapira, M., Samson, J., Mathieu, A. L., Hugo, N., Moncorge, O., Mikaelian, I., Dufour, S., Garbay, C., Colas, P.
  • Year: 2008
  • Journal: PLoS ONE 3 e2902
  • Applications: in vitro / DNA / jetPEI
  • Cell type: HeLa
    Description: Human cervix epitheloid carcinoma cells

Abstract

The Ras GTPase-activating protein RasGAP catalyzes the conversion of active GTP-bound Ras into inactive GDP-bound Ras. However, RasGAP also acts as a positive effector of Ras and exerts an anti-apoptotic activity that is independent of its GAP function and that involves its SH3 (Src homology) domain. We used a combinatorial peptide aptamer approach to select a collection of RasGAP SH3 specific ligands. We mapped the peptide aptamer binding sites by performing yeast two-hybrid mating assays against a panel of RasGAP SH3 mutants. We examined the biological activity of a peptide aptamer targeting a pocket delineated by residues D295/7, L313 and W317. This aptamer shows a caspase-independent cytotoxic activity on tumor cell lines. It disrupts the interaction between RasGAP and Aurora B kinase. This work identifies the above-mentioned pocket as an interesting therapeutic target to pursue and points its cognate peptide aptamer as a promising guide to discover RasGAP small-molecule drug candidates.

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