Project number:

SONP/SP/546507/2022

Title:

I stand for PROTAC - an educational computer game about protein degradation

Project leader:

Wojciech Pokrzywa, PhD, DSc Habil
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Coordinator – Natalia Szulc, M.Sc
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Duration and funds:

01.12.2022–30.11.2024

Co-financed from the state budget: 101 706 PLN 
Total budget: 115 756 PLN 

About the project:             

The aim of the project is to create an educational computer game that will explain the mechanism of modern anti-cancer drugs of the PROTAC type in an accessible way and thus contribute to building confidence in medicine and science. The protagonists of the game will be the enzymes of the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) and their substrates. The player's goal will be to impersonate the UPS protein E3 ligase and catch its substrates on time for ubiquitination and targeting for 26S proteasome-dependent degradation. Each step will be preceded by a short instruction, and then an easy-to-understand description of the biological mechanism will be displayed upon level’s completion. Thanks to a power-up - a PROTAC-type drug, E3 ligase will be able to ubiquitinate proteins that have not been its substrates so far, such as oncoproteins. The game will have an encyclopedic section, with detailed information on each topic and character covered. After completing the game, the player will have the opportunity to test his knowledge in a quiz. The game will be available in Polish and English.