Examining Farnesyltransferase Interaction With Cell-Permeable CaaX Peptides and the Role of the CaaX Motif in Biological Activity

Recently, we presented cell-permeable CaaX peptides as versatile tools to study intracellular prenylation of proteins. These peptides consist of a cell-penetrating peptide (CPP) and a C-terminal CaaX motif derived from Ras proteins and demonstrated high cellular accumulation and the ability to influence Ras signaling in cancerous cells. Here, we aimed to gain a deeper insight into how such cell-permeable CaaX peptides, particularly the KRas4B-derived CaaX-1 peptide, interact with farnesyltransferase (FTase) and likely influence further intracellular processes. We show that CaaX-1 is farnesylated by FTase ex cellulo and that an intact CaaX motif is required for modification. A competition experiment revealed a slower farnesylation of CaaX-1 by FTase compared to a CaaX motif-containing control peptide. CaaX-1 inhibited farnesylation of this control peptide at considerably lower concentrations; thus, a higher affinity for FTase is hypothesized. Notably, AlphaFold3 not only predicted interactions between CaaX-1 and FTase but also suggested interactions between the peptide and geranylgeranyltransferase type I. This finding encourages further investigation, as cross-prenylation is a well-known drawback of FTase inhibitors. Our results are further evidence for the usefulness of CaaX peptides as tools to study and manipulate the prenylation of proteins. They offer real potential for the development of novel inhibitors targeting the prenylation pathway.