- Shankar, Sunita;
- Pitchiaya, Sethuramasundaram;
- Malik, Rohit;
- Kothari, Vishal;
- Hosono, Yasuyuki;
- Yocum, Anastasia K;
- Gundlapalli, Harika;
- White, Yasmine;
- Firestone, Ari;
- Cao, Xuhong;
- Dhanasekaran, Saravana M;
- Stuckey, Jeanne A;
- Bollag, Gideon;
- Shannon, Kevin;
- Walter, Nils G;
- Kumar-Sinha, Chandan;
- Chinnaiyan, Arul M
Oncogenic mutations in RAS provide a compelling yet intractable therapeutic target. Using co-immunoprecipitation mass spectrometry, we uncovered an interaction between RAS and Argonaute 2 (AGO2). Endogenously, RAS and AGO2 co-sediment and co-localize in the endoplasmic reticulum. The AGO2 N-terminal domain directly binds the Switch II region of KRAS, agnostic of nucleotide (GDP/GTP) binding. Functionally, AGO2 knockdown attenuates cell proliferation in mutant KRAS-dependent cells and AGO2 overexpression enhances KRAS(G12V)-mediated transformation. Using AGO2-/- cells, we demonstrate that the RAS-AGO2 interaction is required for maximal mutant KRAS expression and cellular transformation. Mechanistically, oncogenic KRAS attenuates AGO2-mediated gene silencing. Overall, the functional interaction with AGO2 extends KRAS function beyond its canonical role in signaling.