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Updated: Feb 22, 2026

Fully Processed Recombinant KRAS4b: Isolating and Characterizing the Farnesylated and Methylated Protein
Published on: January 16, 2020
Exploring the putative self-binding property of the human farnesyltransferase alpha-subunit
Anna Hagemann1, Grit Müller1, Iris Manthey1
1Institute of Pharmacogenetics, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany.
Abstract:
Farnesylation is an important post-translational protein modification in eukaryotes. Farnesylation is performed by protein farnesyltransferase, a heterodimer composed of an α- (FTα) and a β-subunit. Recently, homodimerization of truncated rat and yeast FTα has been detected, suggesting a new role for FTα homodimers in signal transduction. We investigated the putative dimerization behaviour of human and rat FTα. Different in vitro and in vivo approaches revealed no self-dimerization and a presumably artificial formation of homotrimers and higher homo-oligomers in vitro. Our study contributes to the clarification of the physiological features of FTase in different species and may be important for the ongoing development of FTase inhibitors.
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