Blocking Non-enzymatic Functions by PROTAC-Mediated Targeted Protein Degradation

The non-enzymatic functions of target proteins play key roles in the regulation of various cell signaling pathways and are closely related to numerous human diseases. However, traditional small-molecule inhibitors generally target the catalytic functional domain directly and work by inhibiting the enzymatic function of the target proteins without affecting the non-enzymatic function. The recently emerging proteolysis targeting chimera (PROTAC) technology has the advantage of simultaneously regulating the enzymatic and non-enzymatic functions of target proteins, thus providing a potential strategy to make up for the deficiency of inhibitors and explore the new therapeutic profile by the target degradation. This perspective aims to specifically summarize and analyze recent progress in blocking non-enzymatic functions of target proteins by PROTAC-mediated degradation, highlighting representative case studies and discussing the pharmacological features originating from inhibition of the non-enzymatic functions.