NRAS Gene

HGNC Family	Ras small GTPases superfamily
Name	neuroblastoma RAS viral (v-ras) oncogene homolog
Description	This is an N-ras oncogene encoding a membrane protein that shuttles between the Golgi apparatus and the plasma membrane. This shuttling is regulated through palmitoylation and depalmitoylation by the ZDHHC9-GOLGA7 complex. The encoded protein, which has intrinsic GTPase activity, is activated by a guanine nucleotide-exchange factor and inactivated by a GTPase activating protein. Mutations in this gene have been associated with somatic rectal cancer, follicular thyroid cancer, autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome, Noonan syndrome, and juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia. [provided by RefSeq, Jun 2011]
Summary	{"type": "root", "children": [{"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\nActivating NRAS mutations, especially those affecting codon 61, are now recognized as early and highly conserved events in melanomagenesis that drive tumor progression through robust reactivation of the RAF/MEK/ERK (MAPK) signaling cascade. In melanoma cells, these oncogenic NRAS mutants promote aggressive tumor properties—manifesting as increased thickness and heightened mitotic activity—and mediate acquired resistance to BRAF inhibitors (such as PLX4032) by restoring downstream MAPK activity. Comparative functional analyses have further revealed that specific NRAS mutants (for example, Q61R versus G12D) exhibit distinct biochemical features, including enhanced GTP binding and diminished intrinsic GTPase activity, thereby potentiating melanomagenicity."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_fs", "start_ref": "1", "end_ref": "5"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n\n"}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\nBeyond its tumor cell–autonomous effects in melanoma, NRAS plays critical roles across diverse malignancies and in immune regulation. In lung cancer, secondary NRAS mutations have been observed as mechanisms of acquired resistance to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors, underscoring NRAS’s importance in sustaining MAPK pathway signaling under therapeutic pressure. Postzygotic NRAS mutations also have been implicated in congenital melanocytic nevi and associated neurological lesions, revealing the impact of mosaic NRAS activation beyond the skin. In the context of the immune system, germline-activating NRAS mutations can lead to autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndromes by augmenting RAF/MEK/ERK signaling and disrupting apoptosis, while in T lymphocytes low-grade antigen receptor stimulation preferentially activates a Golgi-associated NRAS pool that is essential for proper intracellular signaling. Importantly, the therapeutic sensitivity observed with MEK inhibitors in NRAS-mutant melanomas further supports NRAS as a pivotal oncogenic driver and a promising molecular target."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_fs", "start_ref": "6", "end_ref": "10"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n"}]}, {"type": "rg", "children": [{"type": "r", "ref": 1, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Katarina Omholt, Anton Platz, Lena Kanter, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "NRAS and BRAF mutations arise early during melanoma pathogenesis and are preserved throughout tumor progression."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Clin Cancer Res (2003)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "14695152"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14695152"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 2, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Anton Platz, Suzanne Egyhazi, Ulrik Ringborg, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Human cutaneous melanoma; a review of NRAS and BRAF mutation frequencies in relation to histogenetic subclass and body site."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Mol Oncol (2008)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/j.molonc.2007.12.003"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molonc.2007.12.003"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "19383313"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19383313"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 3, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Ramin Nazarian, Hubing Shi, Qi Wang, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Melanomas acquire resistance to B-RAF(V600E) inhibition by RTK or N-RAS upregulation."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Nature (2010)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1038/nature09626"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/nature09626"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "21107323"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21107323"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 4, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Bianca Devitt, Wendy Liu, Renato Salemi, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Clinical outcome and pathological features associated with NRAS mutation in cutaneous melanoma."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Pigment Cell Melanoma Res (2011)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1111/j.1755-148X.2011.00873.x"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1755-148X.2011.00873.x"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "21615881"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21615881"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 5, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Christin E Burd, Wenjin Liu, Minh V Huynh, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Mutation-specific RAS oncogenicity explains NRAS codon 61 selection in melanoma."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Cancer Discov (2014)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1158/2159-8290.CD-14-0729"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1158/2159-8290.CD-14-0729"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "25252692"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25252692"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 6, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Ignacio Perez de Castro, Trever G Bivona, Mark R Philips, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Ras activation in Jurkat T cells following low-grade stimulation of the T-cell receptor is specific to N-Ras and occurs only on the Golgi apparatus."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Mol Cell Biol (2004)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1128/MCB.24.8.3485-3496.2004"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1128/MCB.24.8.3485-3496.2004"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "15060167"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15060167"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 7, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "João B Oliveira, Nicolas Bidère, Julie E Niemela, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "NRAS mutation causes a human autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A (2007)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1073/pnas.0702975104"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0702975104"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "17517660"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17517660"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 8, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Kadoaki Ohashi, Lecia V Sequist, Maria E Arcila, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Lung cancers with acquired resistance to EGFR inhibitors occasionally harbor BRAF gene mutations but lack mutations in KRAS, NRAS, or MEK1."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A (2012)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1073/pnas.1203530109"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1203530109"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "22773810"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22773810"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 9, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Lawrence N Kwong, James C Costello, Huiyun Liu, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Oncogenic NRAS signaling differentially regulates survival and proliferation in melanoma."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Nat Med (2012)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1038/nm.2941"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/nm.2941"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "22983396"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22983396"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 10, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Reinhard Dummer, Dirk Schadendorf, Paolo A Ascierto, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Binimetinib versus dacarbazine in patients with advanced NRAS-mutant melanoma (NEMO): a multicentre, open-label, randomised, phase 3 trial."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Lancet Oncol (2017)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/S1470-2045(17)30180-8"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(17"}, {"type": "t", "text": "30180-8) PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "28284557"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28284557"}]}]}]}
Synonyms	NS6, NRAS1, CMNS, N-RAS, ALPS4, NCMS
Proteins	RASN_HUMAN
NCBI Gene ID	4893
API
Download Associations
Predicted Functions
Co-expressed Genes
Expression in Tissues and Cell Lines

Functional Associations

NRAS has 14,776 functional associations with biological entities spanning 9 categories (molecular profile, organism, disease, phenotype or trait, chemical, functional term, phrase or reference, structural feature, cell line, cell type or tissue, gene, protein or microRNA, sequence feature) extracted from 123 datasets.

Click the + buttons to view associations for NRAS from the datasets below.

If available, associations are ranked by standardized value

Harmonizome 3.0

NRAS Gene

Functional Associations

Please acknowledge the Harmonizome in your publications by citing the following reference(s):

	Dataset	Summary
	Achilles Cell Line Gene Essentiality Profiles	cell lines with fitness changed by NRAS gene knockdown relative to other cell lines from the Achilles Cell Line Gene Essentiality Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of NRAS gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of NRAS gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray	tissue samples with high or low expression of NRAS gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by RNA-seq	tissue samples with high or low expression of NRAS gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by RNA-seq dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of NRAS gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of NRAS gene relative to other cell lines from the BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	cell types and tissues with high or low expression of NRAS gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Mouse Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	cell types and tissues with high or low expression of NRAS gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Mouse Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles	cell lines with high or low copy number of NRAS gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of NRAS gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles	cell lines with NRAS gene mutations from the CCLE Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Proteomics	Cell lines associated with NRAS protein from the CCLE Cell Line Proteomics dataset.
	CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations	cell types associated with NRAS gene from the CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles	transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of NRAS gene from the CHEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of NRAS gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022	transcription factors binding the promoter of NRAS gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022 dataset.
	ClinVar Gene-Phenotype Associations	phenotypes associated with NRAS gene from the curated ClinVar Gene-Phenotype Associations dataset.
	CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules	small molecule perturbations changing expression of NRAS gene from the CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components containing NRAS protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components containing NRAS protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components co-occuring with NRAS protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components co-occuring with NRAS protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles	cell lines with high or low copy number of NRAS gene relative to other cell lines from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles	cell lines with NRAS gene mutations from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles dataset.
	CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions	chemicals interacting with NRAS gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions dataset.
	CTD Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with NRAS gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	dbGAP Gene-Trait Associations	traits associated with NRAS gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the dbGAP Gene-Trait Associations dataset.
	DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency	cell lines with fitness changed by NRAS gene knockdown relative to other cell lines from the DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency dataset.
	DISEASES Curated Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores	diseases involving NRAS gene from the DISEASES Curated Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores dataset.
	DISEASES Curated Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025	diseases involving NRAS gene from the DISEASES Curated Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025	diseases associated with NRAS gene in GWAS datasets from the DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores	diseases co-occuring with NRAS gene in abstracts of biomedical publications from the DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores dataset.
	DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025	diseases co-occuring with NRAS gene in abstracts of biomedical publications from the DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with NRAS gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Phenotype Associations	phenotypes associated with NRAS gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Phenoptype Associations dataset.
	ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles	histone modification site profiles with high histone modification abundance at NRAS gene from the ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles	transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of NRAS gene from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of NRAS gene in ChIP-seq datasets from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
	ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells	PubMedIDs of publications reporting gene signatures containing NRAS from the ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells dataset.