Ras Signalling in Human Melanoma

大多数浅表扩散和结节临床亚型的人类黑色素瘤含有NRAS小GTPase或BRAF蛋白激酶的激活突变。为了确定人类黑素瘤分子异质性可能的功能后果，我们已经开始表征RAS在两类人类黑素瘤中刺激的一组信号通路。我们假设NRAS黑素瘤可能比BRAF黑素瘤表现出额外的ras依赖信号通路的激活。因此，替代ras依赖的信号通路可能与人类黑色素瘤的分子靶点相关，至少对于在NRAS中表现出激活突变的那一类人类黑色素瘤。

Most human melanomas of the superficial spreading and nodular clinical subtypes contain activating mutations in either the NRAS small GTPase or the BRAF protein kinase. To determine the possible functional consequences of the molecular heterogeneity of human melanomas, we have begun to characterize the set of signalling pathways stimulated by RAS in both categories of human melanomas. We hypothesize that NRAS melanomas may exhibit activation of additional, RAS-dependent signalling pathways than BRAF melanomas. As such, alternative RAS-dependent signalling pathways may be relevant as molecular targets for human melanoma, at least for that class of human melanomas exhibiting activating mutations in NRAS.