This gene, a Kirsten ras oncogene homolog from the mammalian ras gene family, encodes a protein that is a member of the small GTPase superfamily. A single amino acid substitution is responsible for an activating mutation. The transforming protein that results is implicated in various malignancies, including lung adenocarcinoma, mucinous adenoma, ductal carcinoma of the pancreas and colorectal carcinoma. Alternative splicing leads to variants encoding two isoforms that differ in the C-terminal region. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008] CIViC Summary for KRAS Gene Mutations in the RAS family of proteins are frequently observed across cancer types. The amino acid positions that account for the overwhelming majority of these mutations are G12, G13 and Q61. The different protein isoforms, despite their raw similarity, also behave very differently when expressed in non-native tissue types, likely due to differences in the C-terminal hyper-variable regions. Mis-regulation of isoform expression has been shown to be a driving event in cancer, as well as missense mutations at the three hotspots previously mentioned. While highly recurrent in cancer, attempts to target these RAS mutants with inhibitors have not been successful, and has not yet become common practice in the clinic. The prognostic implications for KRAS mutations vary between cancer types, but have been shown to be associated with poor outcome in colorectal cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, and others.
Forensic Context
A study in mice demonstrated that chronic alcohol exposure induces significant hippocampal alterations, including decreased mitochondrial ATPase activity, increased H2S levels, and impaired learning ability [Du et al. DOI:10.3389/Fphar.2024.1377501].