Dynamic conformational equilibria in the active states of KRAS and NRAS

The design of potent RAS inhibitors benefits from a molecular understanding of the dynamics in KRAS and NRAS and their oncogenic mutants. Here we characterize switch-1 dynamics in GTP-state KRAS and NRAS by P NMR, by N relaxation dispersion NMR, hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS), and molecular dynamics simulations. In GMPPNP-bound KRAS and NRAS, we see the co-existence of two conformational states, corresponding to an "inactive" state-1 and an "active" state-2, as previously reported. The KRAS oncogenic mutations G12D, G12C and G12V only slightly affect this equilibrium towards the "inactive" state-1, with rank order wt < G12C < G12D < G12V. In contrast, the NRAS Q61R oncogenic mutation shifts the equilibrium fully towards the "active" state-2. Our molecular dynamics simulations explain this by the observation of a transient hydrogen bond between the Arg61 side chain and the Thr35 backbone carbonyl oxygen. NMR relaxation dispersion experiments with GTP-bound KRAS Q61R confirm a drastic decrease in the population of state-1, but still detect a small residual population (1.8%) of this conformer. HDX-MS indicates that higher populations of state-1 correspond to increased hydrogen-deuterium exchange rates in some regions and increased flexibility, whereas low state-1 populations are associated with KRAS rigidification. We elucidated the mechanism of action of a potent KRAS G12D inhibitor, MRTX1133. Binding of this inhibitor to the switch-2 pocket causes a complete shift of KRAS G12D towards the "inactive" conformation and prevents binding of effector RAS-binding domain (RBD) at physiological concentrations, by signaling through an allosteric network.