The Ras-related protein AGS1/RASD1 suppresses cell growth.

AGS1/RASD1 is a Ras-related protein identified as a dexamethasone-inducible cDNA and as a signal regulator in various functional and protein-interaction screens. As an initial approach to define the role of AGS1/RASD1 as a Ras-family member, we determined its influence on cell growth/survival. In clonogenic assays with NIH-3T3 murine fibroblast cells, the MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line and the human lung adenocarcinoma cell line A549, AGS1/RASD1 markedly diminished the number of G418-resistant colonies, whereas the Ras subgroup member K-Ras was without effect. A549 cell infection with adenovirus engineered to express AGS1/RASD1 (Ad.AGS1) inhibited log phase growth in vitro and increased the percentage of cells undergoing apoptosis. The anti-growth action was also observed in vivo as the expression of AGS1/RASD1 inhibited the subcutaneous tumor growth of A549 cells in athymic nude mice. These data indicate that AGS1/RASD1, a member of the Ras superfamily of small G-proteins that often promotes cell growth and tumor expansion, plays an active role in preventing aberrant cell growth.