Publication

Mapping the latent CRBN-molecular glue degrader interactome

2025

Abstract

Molecular glue degraders (MGDs) are a transformative modality in drug discovery. MGDs that work in concert with the E3 ligase CRL4 CRBN can degrade a range of substrates through tailored MGDs. To explore CRL4 CRBN reprogrammability, we tested whether reported CRBN-MGD substrates are part of a network of latent CRBN interactors, detectable with generic CRBN-MGDs. Leveraging highly parallel interaction measurement (GluePCA) between CRL4 CRBN and human zinc-fingers (ZFs), we identified ∼210 ZFs bound to CRBN-pomalidomide, where top binders are already reported as degraded by dedicated MGDs. To map latent CRBN-MGDs interactions proteome-wide, and thus define the immediately accessible CRBN target space, we combined AI-derived protein surface queries (MaSIF-mimicry) with GluePCA. This pipeline identified 6 known and 43 novel CRBN-pomalidomide binders, thereby providing privileged starting points for MGD development. We expect this binding-focused, highly parallel workflow to be readily applicable to other MGD/E3 ligase systems, extending the target landscape of this emerging drug class.

Official source

https://infoscience.epfl.ch/entities/publication/a4a60161-ff65-48d5-a31f-133dbc8def4e

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2025

Abstract

Official source

https://infoscience.epfl.ch/entities/publication/a4a60161-ff65-48d5-a31f-133dbc8def4e

About this result

Related concepts (9)

Drug design

Drug design, often referred to as rational drug design or simply rational design, is the inventive process of finding new medications based on the knowledge of a biological target. The drug is most commonly an organic small molecule that activates or inhibits the function of a biomolecule such as a protein, which in turn results in a therapeutic benefit to the patient. In the most basic sense, drug design involves the design of molecules that are complementary in shape and charge to the biomolecular target with which they interact and therefore will bind to it.

Drug discovery

In the fields of medicine, biotechnology and pharmacology, drug discovery is the process by which new candidate medications are discovered. Historically, drugs were discovered by identifying the active ingredient from traditional remedies or by serendipitous discovery, as with penicillin. More recently, chemical libraries of synthetic small molecules, natural products or extracts were screened in intact cells or whole organisms to identify substances that had a desirable therapeutic effect in a process known as classical pharmacology.

Fragment-based lead discovery

Fragment-based lead discovery (FBLD) also known as fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD) is a method used for finding lead compounds as part of the drug discovery process. Fragments are small organic molecules which are small in size and low in molecular weight. It is based on identifying small chemical fragments, which may bind only weakly to the biological target, and then growing them or combining them to produce a lead with a higher affinity. FBLD can be compared with high-throughput screening (HTS).

Related publications (1)

Mapping the latent CRBN-molecular glue degrader interactome

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