KRAS

Synonyms

C-K-RAS ; KI-RAS ; Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homologue; KRAS1 ; KRAS2 ; K-RAS2A ; K-RAS2B ; K-RAS4A ; K-RAS4B, NS ; NS3 ; RASK2 ; v-Ki-ras2

Definition

The KRAS gene is the human cellular homologue of a transforming gene isolated from the Kirsten rat sarcoma virus. It belongs to the mammalian RAS gene family, which name derived from “rat sarcoma” and which most studied members are KRAS, HRAS, and NRAS. These genes encode proteins with a molecular mass of 21 kD and the three are homologues of rodent sarcoma virus genes that have transforming abilities.

While these wild-type cellular proteins in humans play a vital role in normal tissue signaling, including proliferation, differentiation, and senescence, mutated genes are potent oncogenes that play an essential role in many human cancers.

• Approved symbol from the HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC) database: KRAS

• Previous name: v-Ki-ras2 Kirsten rat sarcoma 2 viral oncogene homologue. Previous symbol: KRAS2...