Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 16, 2026

Next Generation Sequencing for the Detection of Actionable Mutations in Solid and Liquid Tumors
Published on: September 20, 2016
RagD gene expression and NRF2 mutations in lung squamous cell carcinomas
Hidefumi Sasaki1, Masayuki Shitara, Keisuke Yokota
1Department of Oncology, Immunology and Surgery, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya, Aichi 467-8601, Japan.
Abstract:
RagD is a member of the small G protein family, which encodes a recently discovered activator of the mTOR pathway. In vitro, RagD plays an important role in the proliferation of NRF2 gene (NFE2L2) mutated cancer cells. We hypothesized that tumor RagD expression may be correlated with the mutation status of NRF2 in lung cancers. RagD mRNA levels were analyzed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) in 90 surgically-treated lung squamous cell cancer cases, including 14 NRF2 mutation cases, and normalized by β-actin mRNA levels. Mean RagD/β-actin mRNA levels of lung squamous cell carcinoma patients did not differ with age (≤65 vs. >65), Brinkman index (<400 vs. ≥400) or gender. RagD/β-actin mRNA levels were significantly higher in stage III samples (3.204±3.623) compared to stage I samples (1.357±1.560) (P= 0.0039). In addition, higher RagD/β-actin mRNA levels were identified in NRF2 mutant samples (3.107±3.633) compared to wild-type samples (1.774±2.301) (P=0.074). These results suggest that RagD induction by NRF2 activation plays a role in the proliferation of lung squamous cell cancers.
Related Concept Videos
The Ras Gene
Ras is a superfamily...
Abnormal Proliferation
Small GTPases - Ras and Rho
Three regulatory proteins control their activity:
The Retinoblastoma Gene
The first-ever tumor suppressor gene called Rb was identified in retinoblastoma - a rare eye tumor in children. In inherited forms of the disease, a child inherits one defective copy of the Rb gene, which predisposes them to retinoblastoma. However,...
Rous Sarcoma Virus (RSV) and Cancer
RSV is a retrovirus that contains two copies of a plus-strand RNA genome. Its genome consists of four main open...
The Ras Gene
Ras is a superfamily...