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Publication Abstract from PubMed

Here, we report a novel mechanism to selectively degrade target proteins. 3-(3-Phenoxybenzyl)amino-beta-carboline (PAC), a tubulin inhibitor, promotes selective degradation of alphabeta-tubulin heterodimers. Biochemical studies have revealed that PAC specifically denatures tubulin, making it prone to aggregation that predisposes it to ubiquitinylation and then degradation. The degradation is mediated by a single hydrogen bond formed between the pyridine nitrogen of PAC and betaGlu198, which is identified as a low-barrier hydrogen bond (LBHB). In contrast, another two tubulin inhibitors that only form normal hydrogen bonds with betaGlu198 exhibit no degradation effect. Thus, the LBHB accounts for the degradation. We then screened for compounds capable of forming an LBHB with betaGlu198 and demonstrated that BML284, a Wnt signaling activator, also promotes tubulin heterodimer degradation through the LBHB. Our study provided a unique example of LBHB function and identified a novel approach to obtain tubulin degraders.

Small Molecules Promote Selective Denaturation and Degradation of Tubulin Heterodimers through a Low-Barrier Hydrogen Bond.,Yang J, Li Y, Qiu Q, Wang R, Yan W, Yu Y, Niu L, Pei H, Wei H, Ouyang L, Ye H, Xu D, Wei Y, Chen Q, Chen L J Med Chem. 2022 Jul 14;65(13):9159-9173. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.2c00379. Epub, 2022 Jun 28. PMID:35762925^[1]

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.