Human genome sequencing has revealed the complex nature of the human
proteome. Researchers have been focused on mapping the proteome to find the right
target for drug design. Inhibition of target proteins may be complemented by redundant
forms of the proteins in the pathogenesis of diseases. Therefore, it is important to
determine key proteins and their coordinating and/or cooperating partner proteins in
protein pathways to design innovative chemotherapeutics. Computational and
experimental studies indicated that approximately 200.000 protein-protein interactions
(PPIs) have been predicted, with only about 8% identified in humans. PPIs play key
roles in many important cellular processes, and especially their up-regulation is closely
associated with each step of the tumurogenesis in cancer cells. Therefore, the
identification of protein interactions helps researchers to design drugs for target
specific cancer treatment. To understand the relations between tumorigenesis and p53-
MDM2, c-MYC-MAX, Bcl-2/Bcl-xL, Hsp90-Hsp70, β-catenin-TCF4, and Menin-
MLL interactions are an important approach to design specific chemotherapeutics for the treatment of individuals with cancer. This work focuses on key protein interactions
on protein signaling pathways and designed inhibitors at these specific junctions in the
literature.
Keywords: Apoptosis, Cancer, Drug design, Oncology, Protein-protein
interactions.
