PROTACs: The Future of Leukemia Therapeutics

Zubair Anwar; Muhammad Shahzad Ali; Antonio Galvano; Alessandro Perez; Maria La Mantia; Ihtisham Bukhari; Bartlomiej Swiatczak

doi:10.3389/fcell.2022.851087

PROTACs: The Future of Leukemia Therapeutics

Front Cell Dev Biol. 2022 Sep 2:10:851087. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2022.851087. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Zubair Anwar¹, Muhammad Shahzad Ali², Antonio Galvano¹, Alessandro Perez¹, Maria La Mantia¹, Ihtisham Bukhari³, Bartlomiej Swiatczak⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Surgical, Oncological, and Oral Sciences, Section of Medical Oncology, Uiniversity of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
² Department of Clinical and Biological Sciences, University of Turin, San Luigi Hospital, Turin, Italy.
³ The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
⁴ Department of History of Science and Scientific Archeology, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China.

Abstract

The fight to find effective, long-lasting treatments for cancer has led many researchers to consider protein degrading entities. Recent developments in PROteolysis TArgeting Chimeras (PROTACs) have signified their potential as possible cancer therapies. PROTACs are small molecule, protein degraders that function by hijacking the built-in Ubiquitin-Proteasome pathway. This review mainly focuses on the general design and functioning of PROTACs as well as current advancements in the development of PROTACs as anticancer therapies. Particular emphasis is given to PROTACs designed against various types of Leukemia/Blood malignancies.

Keywords: PROTACs; anticancer therapeutics; cancer; leukemia; linker.

Publication types

Review