The H-Ras proto-oncogene is a member of the Ras gene family. These proteins can bind GTP and GDP, and they have intrinsic GTPase activity. This protein undergoes a continuous cycle of de- and re-palmitoylation, which regulates its rapid exchange between the plasma membrane and the Golgi apparatus. Mutations in this gene cause Costello syndrome, a disease characterized by increased growth at the prenatal stage, growth deficiency at the postnatal stage, predisposition to tumor formation, cognitive disability, skin and musculoskeletal abnormalities, distinctive facial appearance and cardiovascular abnormalities. Defects in this gene are implicated in a variety of cancers, including bladder cancer, follicular thyroid cancer, and oral squamous cell carcinoma. Multiple transcript variants, which encode different isoforms, have been identified for this gene.
Ba/F3 cell, a murine interleukin-3 dependent pro-B cell line, is a popular system for exploring both kinases and their inhibitors, because some protein kinases can render the Ba/F3 cells to be depended on the activation of the kinases instead of IL-3 supplement, while their inhibitors can antagonize the kinase-dependent growth effects.