Degrading boundaries to break new ground in chemical biology

Targeted Protein Degradation: Clinical Advances in the Field of Oncology

“…By harnessing protein degradation pathways, TPD mediates depletion of a protein of interest from within or outside the cell ( Figure 2 , Table 2 ). Two main types of chemical degraders consist of (i) bifunctional molecules that carry a ligand binding to POI connected by a linker to another ligand binding to a component of the degradation machinery (e.g., the ubiquitin system, autophagy or the lysosomal system) and (ii) molecular glues that induce protein association of proteins that do not interact in the absence of these ligands [ 20 ]. TPD acts on a kinetic resolution, enabling near-complete target removal within minutes up to few hours [ 20 ].…”