Lysineless HiBiT and NanoLuc Tagging Systems as Alternative Tools Monitoring Targeted Protein Degradation

Abstract

Target protein degradation (TPD) has emerged as a revolutionary approach in drug discovery, leveraging the cells intrinsic machinery to selectively degrade disease-associated proteins. Proteolysis-Targeting Chimeras (PROTACs) exemplify this strategy, exploiting heterobifunctional molecules to induce ubiquitination and subsequent degradation of target proteins. The clinical advancement of PROTACs underscores their potential in therapeutic intervention, with numerous projects progressing through clinical stages. However, monitoring subtle changes in protein abundance induced by TPD molecules demands highly sensitive assays. Nano-luciferase (nLuc) fusion proteins, or the NanoBiT technology derived from it, offer a robust screening platform due to their high sensitivity and stability. Despite these advantages, concerns have arisen regarding potential degradation artifacts introduced by tagging systems due to the presence of lysine residues on them, prompting the development of alternative tools. In this study, we introduce HiBiT-RR and nLucK0, variants devoid of lysine residues, to mitigate such artifacts. Our findings demonstrate that HiBiT-RR maintains similar sensitivity and binding affinity with the original HiBiT. Moreover, the comparison between nLucWT and nLucK0 constructs reveals variations in degradation patterns induced by certain PROTAC molecules, emphasizing the importance of choosing appropriate tagging systems to ensure the reliability of experimental outcomes in studying protein degradation processes.