Cited by 1,137Computational Drug Discovery MethodsChemical Synthesis and AnalysisProtein Degradation and Inhibitors

Small molecules, big targets: drug discovery faces the protein–protein interaction challenge

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Scott, Duncan E., Bayly, Andrew R., Abell, Chris, Skidmore, John·2016·Nature Reviews Drug Discovery

Abstract

Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) are of pivotal importance in the regulation of biological systems and are consequently implicated in the development of disease states. Recent work has begun to show that, with the right tools, certain classes of PPI can yield to the efforts of medicinal chemists to develop inhibitors, and the first PPI inhibitors have reached clinical development. In this Review, we describe the research leading to these breakthroughs and highlight the existence of groups of structurally related PPIs within the PPI target class. For each of these groups, we use examples of successful discovery efforts to illustrate the research strategies that have proved most useful.

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Crossref · 10.1038/nrd.2016.29

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  • Inhibition of protein-protein interactions has proved challenging but feasible.

    “The inhibition of PPIs has arguably received more attention in the past and has proved to be challenging but still feasible.2,3”

    From Chasing molecular glue degraders: screening approaches (2022) · cites this paper as [2]

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Research works printed but not linked: 6

  1. Lepre, C.A., Connolly, P.J. & Moore, J.M. in Drug Design (eds. Merz, K.M., Jr., Ringe, D. & Reynolds, C.H.) 41-58 (Cambridge University Press, 2010).
  2. Jones, S. & Thornton, J.M. Principles of protein-protein interactions. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 93, 13-20 (1996). Classic paper reviewing PPIs, discussing concepts such as homo-and hetero-dimers as well as obligate and non-obligate complexes.
  3. Blundell, T.L. et al. Structural biology and bioinformatics in drug design: opportunities and challenges for target identification and lead discovery. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B Biol. Sci. 361, 413-23 (2006). Introduces the idea that protein structure can aid target selection, in particular the benefits of targeting a globular protein that orders a flexible peptide upon binding are proposed.
  4. Hajduk, P.J. & Greer, J. A decade of fragment-based drug design: strategic advances and lessons learned. Nat. Rev. Drug. Discov. 6, 211-9 (2007). Excellent review of fragment-based drug discovery with valuable historical insight.
  5. Erlanson, D.A. et al. Site-directed ligand discovery. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 97, 9367-72 (2000). First report of covalent 'tethering' as a technique for hit discovery and lead development against challenging drug discovery targetes.
  6. Walensky, L.D. & Bird, G.H. Hydrocarbon-Stapled Peptides: Principles, Practice, and Progress. J. Med. Chem. 57, 6275-6288 (2014). Review of the concept of 'stapled peptides' -hydrocarbon chains holding peptides into a fixed conformation.

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Authors
Scott, D. E., Bayly, A. R., Abell, C., & Skidmore, J.
Affiliations
University of Cambridge (GB)
Corresponding author
  • Abell, Chris
  • Skidmore, John
Venue
Nature Reviews Drug Discovery
Published
2016-04-11
Volume
15
Issue
8
Pages
533-550
ISSN
  • 1474-1776 (ISSN-L)
  • 1474-1784
OpenAlex
W2329592726
Cited by
1,137
References
172
Citations by year
2026: 101 · 2025: 121 · 2024: 120 · 2023: 115 · 2022: 117 · 2021: 128 · 2020: 120 · 2019: 106 · 2018: 107 · 2017: 83 · 2016: 16
FWCI
8.11
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature Reviews Drug Discovery (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Apollo (University of Cambridge) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computational Theory and Mathematics › Computational Drug Discovery Methods
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Chemical Synthesis and Analysis
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Protein Degradation and Inhibitors
Keywords
protein-protein interaction, PPI inhibitors, small molecule drug discovery, drug target identification, structure-based drug design
MeSH terms
Animals, Humans, Models, Molecular, Proteins, Protein Structure, Tertiary, Computational Biology, Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs, Small Molecule Libraries, Drug Discovery

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