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Protacs: Chimeric molecules that target proteins to the Skp1–Cullin–F box complex for ubiquitination and degradation

2001; National Academy of Sciences; Volume: 98; Issue: 15 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1073/pnas.141230798

1091-6490

Kathleen M. Sakamoto, Kyung B. Kim, Akiko Kumagai, Frank Mercurio, Craig M. Crews, Raymond J. Deshaies,

Glycosylation and Glycoproteins Research

The intracellular levels of many proteins are regulated by ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis. One of the best-characterized enzymes that catalyzes the attachment of ubiquitin to proteins is a ubiquitin ligase complex, Skp1-Cullin-F box complex containing Hrt1 (SCF). We sought to artificially target a protein to the SCF complex for ubiquitination and degradation. To this end, we tested methionine aminopeptidase-2 (MetAP-2), which covalently binds the angiogenesis inhibitor ovalicin. A chimeric compound, protein-targeting chimeric molecule 1 (Protac-1), was synthesized to recruit MetAP-2 to SCF. One domain of Protac-1 contains the IκBα phosphopeptide that is recognized by the F-box protein β-TRCP, whereas the other domain is composed of ovalicin. We show that MetAP-2 can be tethered to SCF β -TRCP , ubiquitinated, and degraded in a Protac-1-dependent manner. In the future, this approach may be useful for conditional inactivation of proteins, and for targeting disease-causing proteins for destruction.