Synthesis of Ras proteins and their application in biofunctional studies

Approximately 30% of human cancers are associated with RAS mutation. Ras proteins on the plasma membrane regulate a plenty of important cellular processes. The post-translational modifications (PTMs) of Ras proteins like lipidation and methylation are crucial for their correct cellular localization and biological function. Hence, obtaining Ras proteins with different kinds of modifications is the necessary prerequisite to investigate their biological properties at molecular level. In this review, we mainly summarize the developed strategies including chemical total synthesis, biosynthesis and semi-synthesis for producing Ras proteins with modifications and their application in biological studies.