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The cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor CR8 acts as a molecular glue compound by inducing the formation of a complex between CDK12-cyclin K and DDB1, which results in the ubiquitination and degradation of cyclin K.

Molecular glue compounds induce protein-protein interactions that, in the context of a ubiquitin ligase, lead to protein degradation(1). Unlike traditional enzyme inhibitors, these molecular glue degraders act substoichiometrically to catalyse the rapid depletion of previously inaccessible targets(2). They are clinically effective and highly sought-after, but have thus far only been discovered serendipitously. Here, through systematically mining databases for correlations between the cytotoxicity of 4,518 clinical and preclinical small molecules and the expression levels of E3 ligase components across hundreds of human cancer cell lines(3-5), we identify CR8-a cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitor(6)-as a compound that acts as a molecular glue degrader. The CDK-bound form of CR8 has a solvent-exposed pyridyl moiety that induces the formation of a complex between CDK12-cyclin K and the CUL4 adaptor protein DDB1, bypassing the requirement for a substrate receptor and presenting cyclin K for ubiquitination and degradation. Our studies demonstrate that chemical alteration of surface-exposed moieties can confer gain-of-function glue properties to an inhibitor, and we propose this as a broader strategy through which target-binding molecules could be converted into molecular glues.

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men worldwide(1). Over the past decade, large-scale integrative genomics efforts have enhanced our understanding of this disease by characterizing its genetic and epigenetic landscape in thousands of patients(2,3). However, most tumours profiled in these studies were obtained from patients from Western populations. Here we produced and analysed whole-genome, whole-transcriptome and DNA methylation data for 208 pairs of tumour tissue samples and matched healthy control tissue from Chinese patients with primary prostate cancer. Systematic comparison with published data from 2,554 prostate tumours revealed that the genomic alteration signatures in Chinese patients were markedly distinct from those of Western cohorts: specifically, 41% of tumours contained mutations in FOXA1 and 18% each had deletions in ZNF292 and CHD1. Alterations of the genome and epigenome were correlated and were predictive of disease phenotype and progression. Coding and noncoding mutations, as well as epimutations, converged on pathways that are important for prostate cancer, providing insights into this devastating disease. These discoveries underscore the importance of including population context in constructing comprehensive genomic maps for disease.

Genomic, transcriptomic and DNA methylation data from tissue samples from 208 Chinese patients with prostate cancer define the landscape of alterations in this population, and comparison with data from Western cohorts suggests that the disease may stratify into different molecular subtypes.