Pharmacological probes of Ras function.

Numerous approaches toward anti-ras drugs are being explored. Efforts range from cell-based assays which screen fermentation products to more structural or mechanism-based in vitro screening and design. For the mechanism-based approaches, extensive research efforts on the function and regulation of the ras oncogene protein have identified potential points of intervention, including protein expression, membrane localization, guanine nucleotide activation, and interaction with effector systems.