[Advances in deubiquitinase-targeting chimera technology for anticancer drug development]

The ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) serves as the central mechanism for protein degradation in eukaryotic cells. Deubiquitinases (DUBs), which maintain protein stability and function by removing ubiquitin chains play a key role in protein cycling. Consequently, a DUB-targeting chimera (DUBTAC) technology has emerged. A DUBTAC consists of three components: a protein-targeting ligand, a DUB recruiter, and a linker connecting them. A DUBTAC can simultaneously bind to its targeted protein and DUB and induce the DUB to cleave the ubiquitin chains, thereby restoring the protein function by stabilizing the target protein. The DUBTAC technology provides a novel research strategy involving targeted protein stabilization for conventionally "undruggable" proteins that are abnormally degraded. Compared with other mature technologies, such as proteolysis-targeting chimera (PROTAC) and molecular glue degrader technologies, the DUBTAC technology has the unique advantages of targeting and stabilizing tumor suppressors, thus showing high potential for cancer therapy. However, it is still in the early stage of development with few systematic summaries of recent research achievements. This review introduces the basic concepts, critical design, and research considerations of DUBTACs, summarizes the latest research advances in DUBTAC technology for antitumor drug development, and discusses the development strategies and clinical application prospects of DUBTACs in the future, aiming to provide more directions for research on this technology.