Databases of protein-protein interactions and their use in drug discovery

Proteins rarely act alone. With the development of experimental technologies, researchers have started to map the interactions of proteins in different organisms. The data gathered constitute potential frameworks for system-based drug discovery. The possibility of targeting protein-protein interactions with specific drugs raises expectations of huge impact in the therapeutics field, despite the large quantity of research still necessary to delineate the complete interactome of a single cell. This review summarizes some concepts relating to protein-protein interfaces in relation to drug discovery, and discusses studies aiming to develop protein-protein interaction modulators through the combination of in silico and in vitro screening experiments.