Integrated proteomic screening reveals design principles of CRBN molecular glue degraders

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Authors: Bachuki Shashikadze, Ines F. Scheller, Denise Winkler, Patrick R. A. Zanon, Anastasia Bednarz, Denis Bartoschek, Sophie Machata, Tobias Graef, Uli Ohmayer, Bjoern Schwalb, Henrik Daub, Martin Steger
Cited by: 3
References: 68

Abstract

Abstract Cereblon (CRBN)-based molecular glue degraders (MGDs) induce the degradation of diverse disease-relevant proteins, underscoring their broad therapeutic potential. Here we systematically expand the CRBN neosubstrate landscape using a target-agnostic discovery approach. By integrating deep proteomic and ubiquitinomic profiling of a 960-compound library, we identify compound-induced ubiquitination and depletion of over 230 endogenous proteins. Among these, 124 represent previously unreported CRBN neosubstrates, with over half lacking a predicted G-loop degron. We provide this dataset via an interactive resource, NeosubstratesDB . Complementary cellular and biochemical assays mechanistically define the interaction domain of IRAK1 and establish G-loop-dependent degradation for BCL6. Interpretable machine learning (iML) integrating proteomic profiles with chemical structures highlights key molecular fingerprints driving neosubstrate selectivity for targets such as CSNK1A1, ZFP91 and WEE1. Together, these findings significantly expand the repertoire of CRBN neosubstrates and provide a framework for rational design of next-generation MGDs.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Protein Degradation and Inhibitors Click Chemistry and Applications CAR-T cell therapy research

Publication details

Journal / source
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
Publisher
openRxiv
Publication date
10 March 2026
Document type
Preprint