Protein interaction in the mechanism of platinum anticancer drugs

Platinum anti-tumor drugs are widely used in cancer chemotherapy. These compounds are believed to induce apoptosis in tumor cells by DNA crosslinking, which causes DNA damage and suppresses DNA replication. However, recent studies indicate that platinum drugs can react with a large variety of intracellular and extracellular proteins before binding to the nuclear DNA. These protein interactions can alter the transportation and metabolism of platinum drugs as well as their interactions with the DNA target, which have significant influence on the efficacy and resistance of platinum drugs. On the other hand, platinum reactions can alter the function of proteins, which contributes to the drug efficacy and side-effects of platinum drugs. In this article, we review the recent progress in the protein interaction of platinum drugs. The influence of small molecules on the reaction, the reaction of non-cancer target proteins, and the research methods for the investigation are also discussed.