Rational design of protein-protein interaction inhibitors

Protein-protein interactions are at the heart of most physiopathological processes. As such, they have attracted considerable attention for designing drugs of the future. Although initially considered as high-value but difficult to identify, low molecular weight compounds able to selectively and potently modulate protein-protein interactions have recently reached clinical trials. Along with high-throughput screening of compound libraries, combining structural and computational approaches has boosted this formerly minor area of research into a currently tremendously active field. This review highlights the very recent developments in the rational design of protein-protein interaction inhibitors.