Abstract
Proteolysis Targeting Chimeras (PROTACs) technology has emerged as a promising
strategy for the treatment of undruggable therapeutic targets. Researchers have invested a great effort
in developing druggable PROTACs; however, the problems associated with PROTACs, including
poor solubility, metabolic stability, cell permeability, and pharmacokinetic profile, restrict
their clinical utility. Thus, there is a pressing need to expand the size of the armory of PROTACs
which will escalate the chances of pinpointing new PROTACs with optimum pharmacokinetic
and pharmacodynamics properties. N- heterocycle is a class of organic frameworks that have been
widely explored to construct new and novel PROTACs. This review provides an overview of recent
efforts of medicinal chemists to develop N-heterocycle-based PROTACs as effective cancer
therapeutics. Specifically, the recent endeavors centred on the discovery of PROTACs have been
delved into various classes based on the E3 ligase they target (MDM2, IAP, CRBN, and other E3
ligases). Mechanistic insights revealed during the biological assessment of recently furnished Nheterocyclic-
based PROTACs constructed via the utilization of ligands for various E3 ligases
have been discussed.
Graphical Abstract
[24]
Kuo YC. Cancer Science and Pediatrics 2019: Meridian on cancer therapy-Yu Cheng Kuo-Taipei Medical University, Taiwan. Pediatric Oncology: Open Access 2021; 6(3): 4-4.
[27]
Wakabayashi G, Lee Y-C, Luh F, Kuo C-N, Chang W-C, Yen Y. Development and clinical applications of cancer immunotherapy against PD-1 signaling pathway. J Biomed Sci 2019; 26: 1-13.
[34]
Bailly C, Thuru X, Quesnel B. Combined cytotoxic chemotherapy and immunotherapy of cancer: Modern times. NAR cancer, 2020; 2(1)
[40]
Dudhe R, Sharma PK, Verma P, Chaudhary A. Pyrimidine as anticancer agent: A review. Int J Adv Sci Res 2011; 2(03): 10-7.
[53]
Troup RI, Fallan C, Baud MG. Current strategies for the design of PROTAC linkers: A critical review. Explor target anti-tumor ther 2020; 1(5): 273-312.
[55]
Gao X, Burris HA III, Vuky J, et al. Shen, Androgen receptor signaling inhibition in advanced castration resistance prostate cancer: what is expected for the near future? J Am Soc Clin Oncol 2022; 14(24): 6071.
[58]
Arvinas I. Arvinas releases interim clinical data further demonstrating the powerful potential of PROTAC® Protein degraders ARV-471 and ARV-110. 2020.
[60]
Mullard A. Targeted protein degraders crowd into the clinic. 2021; 20(4): 247-50.
[133]
Wu J, Wang W, Leung C-H. Computational strategies for PROTAC drug discovery. Acta Mater Med 2023; 2(1): 42-53.