Structural insights into the complex of oncogenic KRas4BG12Vand Rgl2, a RalA/B activator

Abstract

About a quarter of total human cancers carry mutations in Ras isoforms. Accumulating evidence suggests that small GTPases, RalA, and RalB, and their activators, Ral guanine nucleotide exchange factors (RalGEFs), play an essential role in oncogenic Ras-induced signalling. We studied the interaction between human KRas4B and the Ras association (RA) domain of Rgl2 (Rgl2RA), one of the RA-containing RalGEFs. We show that the G12V oncogenic KRas4B mutation changes the interaction kinetics with Rgl2RA. The crystal structure of the KRas4BG12V: Rgl2RAcomplex shows a 2:2 heterotetramer where the switch I and switch II regions of each KRasG12Vinteract with both Rgl2RAmolecules. This structural arrangement is highly similar to the HRasE31K:RALGDSRAcrystal structure and is distinct from the well-characterised Ras:Raf complex. Interestingly, the G12V mutation was found at the dimer interface of KRas4BG12Vwith its partner. Our study reveals a potentially distinct mode of Ras:effector complex formation by RalGEFs and offers a possible mechanistic explanation for how the oncogenic KRas4BG12Vhyperactivates the RalA/B pathway.