The topology of drug-target interaction networks: implicit dependence on drug properties and target families

The availability of interaction data between small molecule drugs and protein targets has increased substantially in recent years. Using seven different databases, we were able to assemble a total of 4767 unique interactions between 802 drugs and 480 targets, which means that on average every drug is currently acknowledged to interact with 6 targets. The application of network theory to the analysis of these data reveals an unexpectedly complex picture of drug-target interactions. The results confirm that the topology of drug-target networks depends implicitly on data completeness, drug properties, and target families. The implications for drug discovery are discussed.