Research Progress in Hot Spot-Based Design of Small Molecule Drug for Protein-Protein Interactions

In order to drive its biological function, a protein usually interacts with other proteins, where the interface of this interaction is called "hot spot" area. However, some abnormal interactions may lead to some diseases, while some small molecule drugs with specific structure can be used as inhibitors of these interactions for the purpose of treating diseases. This paper reviews the composition of the "hot spot" areas in protein-protein interactions(PPIs), the relationship between the mutants of "hot spot" areas in PPIs and diseases, and the prediction methods of "hot spot" areas as well as their interactions with certain small molecule drugs, which could provide references for the development of small molecule drugs based on protein-protein interactions.