Ras Signalling in Human Melanoma

大多数浅表扩散型和结节型临床亚型的人类黑色素瘤在NRAS小GT激酶或BRAF蛋白激酶中含有激活突变。为了确定人类黑色素瘤的分子异质性的可能的功能后果，我们已经开始表征在两类人类黑色素瘤中由RAS刺激的信号通路的集合。我们假设NRAS黑色素瘤可能比BRAF黑色素瘤表现出额外的RAS依赖性信号通路的激活。因此，替代RAS依赖性信号传导途径可能与人黑素瘤的分子靶标相关，至少对于表现出NRAS激活突变的那类人黑素瘤而言。

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.