The M-Ras/R-Ras-like subfamily contains R-Ras2/TC21, M-Ras/R-Ras3, and related members of the Ras family. M-Ras is expressed in lympho-hematopoetic cells. It interacts with some of the known Ras effectors, but appears to also have its own effectors. Expression of mutated M-Ras leads to transformation of several types of cell lines, including hematopoietic cells, mammary epithelial cells, and fibroblasts. Overexpression of M-Ras is observed in carcinomas from breast, uterus, thyroid, stomach, colon, kidney, lung, and rectum. In addition, expression of a constitutively active M-Ras mutant in murine bone marrow induces a malignant mast cell leukemia that is distinct from the monocytic leukemia induced by H-Ras. TC21, along with H-Ras, has been shown to regulate the branching morphogenesis of ureteric bud cell branching in mice. Most Ras proteins contain a lipid modification site at the C-terminus, with a typical sequence motif CaaX, where a = an aliphatic amino acid and X = any amino acid. Lipid binding is essential for membrane attachment, a key feature of most Ras proteins. Due to the presence of truncated sequences in this CD, the lipid modification site is not available for annotation.
Jiyao W et al.(2023). "The conserved domain database in 2023.",