Alice Wicks
Postdoc researching ubiquitin biology @fletcherlab.bsky.social @CVR in the context of viral infection. Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Advocate. What I say here is my personal opinion.
X: UbcH_Alice
thefletcherlab.co.uk
- My first-author paper is out in @chemicalscience.rsc.org from my time in Professor Danny Huang’s laboratory @cruk-si.bsky.social. We showed that CBL can be used as a degrader E3 to target the “undruggable” eIF4E. pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...
- The range of E3 ligases exploited in proteolysis-targeting chimeras (PROTACs) remains limited by the lack of available E3 ligands. Building on a CBL E3-binding peptide developed by the Huang Lab, we investigated whether a CBL-recruiting peptide PROTAC could induce eIF4E degradation.
- eIF4E is a key translation regulator and considered a challenging cancer target. Using multidisciplinary approaches, the study demonstrates that the PROTAC engages both CBL and eIF4E and promotes eIF4E degradation via lysosomal and proteasomal pathways, thereby disrupting translation.
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View full threadIt is possible that previously untapped E3s could offer distinct structural plasticity and cooperativity that favour productive ubiquitination, as we show in this paper. It is therefore important to study more E3 ligases, which motivated me to move to @fletcherlab.bsky.social ☺️
- Reposted by Alice WicksJoin us for the #Ubiquitin & Friends Symposium 2026, April 29-30, in Vienna! Fantastic guest speakers👇 & many slots for talks from abstracts, flash-talks & posters. Lots of opportunities to network. Register now to save your spot! ➡️ www.protein-degradation.org/symposium/ #ubfriends2026
