Revolving around the ubiquitin‒proteasome system: usp2-targeted degrader
Targeting DUB enzymes has recently emerged as a promising opportunity for drug discovery that might lead to more selective, less toxic drug profiles. Target validation of these enzymes is currently a priority in the field, as we are lacking of appropriate chemical probes for most of them. A clear example is USP2, whose chemical inhibition has been barely explored, leading to a poor-quality chemical probe that has been extensively used by biologist during the last decade. Hence, this multidisciplinary project emerges to address the identified unmet need of providing the scientific community with an appropriate chemical probe for a confident interrogation and further understanding of USP2 biology and disease. This probe will be useful for a suitable validation of this promising target and can eventually feed drug discovery projects for USP2-related cancer treatments.
Herein, we aim to develop a, USP2-Targeted Degrader (USP2-TD) that overcomes the lack of selectivity and potency of its parent counterpart. This small-molecule USP2-TD will enable investigations of selective USP2 downregulation with exquisite quantitative and temporal control of protein levels. To this end, the proposed research deal with the identification of solvent-exposed region at the parent, the discovery of the USP2-TD, and its validation as chemical probe for USP2.