The EMBO workshop “Ubiquitin and ubiquitin-like proteins in health and disease” , co-organized by ProteoCure, has taken place from 9 to 13 September, 2022, in Cavtat, Croatia. Thanks to our colleague Simona Polo, organization of this event has offered the opportunity to bring together leading and young scientists from different fields, from basic science to clinical activities.
This workshop is the only one in Europe that brings together scientists studying Ub and Ubl networks in widely varying model systems and organisms. This provided the opportunity to highlight differences and similarities among Ub and Ubl pathways and to foster the elucidation of the wiring of Ub/Ubl-control networks in health and disease. The worshop focus matches perfectly with the objectives of the Proteocure COST action. Indeed, this five-days long meeting was divided into the following sessions:
Session 1 – Molecular insights into the Ub/Ubls system
Session 2 – Ub/Ubls pathways in physiological responses
Session 3 – Ub/Ubls pathways in pathological responses
Session 4 – Ub/Ubls pathways in development and neurodegeneration
Session 5 – Ub/Ubls pathways in cancer
Session 6 – Exploiting ubiquitination machinery for therapy.
This final session of the Meeting focused on PROteolysis TArgeting Chimera (PROTACS) and molecular glues, small molecule degraders used in the context of treating proteopathies. This emerging technology opens great possibilities in the targeting of otherwise undruggable proteins and, as such, are now developed by many pharmaceutical companies, with several clinical trials currently being on-going.
