In a major breakthrough, scientists have developed a new class of proteins called PROTACs that can be used to regulate proteins in a cell by altering their epigenetic status. These proteins, which are designed to bind to specific proteins and modify their epigenetic states, offer a unique approach to controlling gene expression and could have a major impact on the development of new treatments for diseases that are caused by misregulated proteins. PROTACs are able to target epigenetic modifications, such as histone acetylation and DNA methylation, which are important for regulating gene expression. This means that they can be used to turn off or turn on specific genes, allowing scientists to control how proteins are expressed in a cell. This could be used to treat a variety of diseases, including cancer, by turning off genes that are involved in disease progression. The development of PROTACs is a major step forward in the field of epigenetics and could have far-reaching implications for the treatment of many diseases.

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source: Phys.org