Disruption of protein-protein interactions: Towards new targets for chemotherapy

Protein-protein interactions play a key role in various mechanisms of cellular-growth and differentiation, and in the replication of pathogen organisms in hostcells. Thus, inhibition of these interactionsisa promisingnovel approach for rational drug design against a wide number of cellular and microbial targets. In the past few years, attempts to inhibit protein-protein interactions using antibodies, peptides, and synthetic or natural small molecules have met with varying degrees of success, and these will be the focus of this review.