Double Trouble: PROTACs Gone Wild

For this illustration, I was inspired by an article that describes the development of a new type of drug molecule called a heterotrivalent PROTAC. These molecules are designed to target and eliminate specific proteins in cells that may be involved in diseases.
The researchers created a complex molecule that can simultaneously bind to three different components:
- A target protein (in this case, a protein called BET)
- Two different enzymes (called E3 ligases) that help mark proteins for destruction

By connecting to all three components at once, this new molecule aims to be more effective at eliminating the target protein than previous designs that only recruited one E3 ligase.
The team spent considerable effort synthesizing various versions of these molecules, adjusting different parts to optimize their performance. They created a series of chemical compounds with slight variations, testing how changes in the molecule's structure affected its ability to degrade the target protein.
The goal of this work is to develop more potent and potentially more resistant drugs for treating diseases where eliminating specific proteins could be beneficial. By recruiting two different E3 ligases, the researchers hope to create a more robust system that could be less likely to fail if one of the ligases becomes ineffective.

This research represents a proof-of-concept for a new strategy in drug design, potentially opening up new avenues for treating challenging diseases