Exploiting the Cullin E3 Ligase Adaptor Protein SKP1 for Targeted Protein Degradation

Targeted protein degradation with Proteolysis Targeting Chimeras (PROTACs) is a powerful therapeutic modality for eliminating disease-causing proteins through targeted ubiquitination and proteasome-mediated degradation. Most PROTACs have exploited substrate receptors of Cullin-RING E3 ubiquitin ligases such as Cereblon and VHL. Whether core, shared, and essential components of the Cullin-RING E3 ubiquitin Ligase complex can be used for PROTAC applications remains less explored. Here, we discovered a cysteine-reactive covalent recruiter EN884 against the SKP1 adapter protein of the SKP1-CUL1-F-box containing SCF complex. We further showed that this recruiter can be used in PROTAC applications to degrade neo-substrate proteins such as BRD4 and the Androgen Receptor in a SKP1- and proteasome-dependent manner. Our studies demonstrate that core and essential adapter proteins within the Cullin-RING E3 ubiquitin Ligase complex can be exploited for targeted protein degradation applications and that covalent chemoproteomic strategies can enable recruiter discovery against these targets.

AR; BRD4; CUL1; SKP1; activity-based protein profiling; androgen receptor; chemoproteomics; covalent; targeted protein degradation.