KRAS

KRAS proto-oncogene, GTPase

Ensembl:
ENSG00000133703
UniProt:
P01116
OMIM:
190070
Synonyms:
K-RAS4B, KRAS1, KRAS2

Cilia effects upon perturbation of KRAS

Cilia number / % ciliated:
Decreased cilia number
Loss-of-function effect:
Incrased cilia number

Ciliogenesis screen results (3 screens)

  • Wheway et al. 2015 (siRNA) [siRNA]: Ciliogenesis Defect (z=-6.08) PMID:26167766
  • Breslow et al. 2018 (CRISPR) [CRISPR]: Positive Regulator (Hh signaling, casTLE effect=-1.02) PMID:29459680
  • Elliott et al. 2025 (CRISPRa) [CRISPRa]: Disassembly Trigger (casTLE Effect=-2.90) PMID:41160700

Subcellular localization

cilia associated gene, lysosomes

Functional category

  • Ciliary assembly/disassembly
  • Trafficking (BBSome, small GTPases, vesicular transport, ATPases)
  • Actin & cytoskeleton regulation
  • Neurogenesis & migration
  • Signaling (Hedgehog, GPCRs, ion channels)
  • Cardiac & muscle development
  • Transcription regulation

Function

Inhibition of Kras effector pathways restored ciliogenesis in a mouse pancreatic cancer cell line, raising the possibility that ciliogenesis may be actively repressed by oncogenic Kras ( 19147554). Constitutive activation of KRAS promotes acinar-to-ductal metaplasia (ADM) but is associated with fewer primary cilia, and KRAS knockdown significantly increased cilia formation, suggesting that KRAS signalling suppresses ciliogenesis during ADM. (32571902)

Model organism evidence

Mus musculus (2 references)

Mutations in the Kras oncogene are present in approximately 25% of tumors, while defective primary cilium can either promote or suppress specific cancer types.

BET inhibition rescues ciliogenesis and ameliorates pancreatitis-driven phenotypic changes in mice with Par3 loss.

PMIDs: 40858722, 37745543