title: Small-molecule hydrophobic tagging-induced degradation of HaloTag fusion proteins.
abstract: The ability to regulate any protein of interest in living systems with small molecules remains a challenge. We hypothesized that appending a hydrophobic moiety to the surface of a protein would mimic the partially denatured state of the protein, thus engaging the cellular quality control machinery to induce its proteasomal degradation. We designed and synthesized bifunctional small molecules to bind a bacterial dehalogenase (the HaloTag protein) and present a hydrophobic group on its surface. Hydrophobic tagging of the HaloTag protein with an adamantyl moiety induced the degradation of cytosolic, isoprenylated and transmembrane HaloTag fusion proteins in cell culture. We demonstrated the in vivo utility of hydrophobic tagging by degrading proteins expressed in zebrafish embryos and by inhibiting Hras1(G12V)-driven tumor progression in mice. Therefore, hydrophobic tagging of HaloTag fusion proteins affords small-molecule control over any protein of interest, making it an ideal system for validating potential drug targets in disease models.
authors: Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
authors: Taavi K
authors: TK
authors: Neklesa
authors: Hyun Seop
authors: HS
authors: Tae
authors: Ashley R
authors: AR
authors: Schneekloth
authors: Michael J
authors: MJ
authors: Stulberg
authors: Timothy W
authors: TW
authors: Corson
authors: Thomas B
authors: TB
authors: Sundberg
authors: Kanak
authors: K
authors: Raina
authors: Scott A
authors: SA
authors: Holley
authors: Craig M
authors: CM
authors: Crews
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015374:Biosensing Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D002460:Cell Line; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D008164:Luminescent Proteins / Q000737:chemistry; D051379:Mice; D015394:Molecular Structure; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D015027:Zebrafish
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D008164:Luminescent Proteins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins