Inducing the Degradation of Disease-Related Proteins Using Heterobifunctional Molecules

Current drug development strategies that target either enzymatic or receptor proteins for which specific small molecule ligands can be designed for modulation, result in a large portion of the proteome being overlooked as undruggable. The recruitment of natural degradation cascades for targeted prot...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Alexandré Delport, Raymond Hewer
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2019-09-01
Series:Molecules
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/24/18/3272
Description
Summary:Current drug development strategies that target either enzymatic or receptor proteins for which specific small molecule ligands can be designed for modulation, result in a large portion of the proteome being overlooked as undruggable. The recruitment of natural degradation cascades for targeted protein removal using heterobifunctional molecules (or degraders) provides a likely avenue to expand the druggable proteome. In this review, we discuss the use of this drug development strategy in relation to degradation cascade-recruiting mechanisms and successfully targeted disease-related proteins. Essential characteristics to be considered in degrader design are deliberated upon and future development challenges mentioned.
ISSN:1420-3049