CORUM in 2024: protein complexes as drug targets

CORUM (https://mips.helmholtz-muenchen.de/corum/) is a public database that offers comprehensive information about mammalian protein complexes, including their subunits, functions and associations with human diseases. The newly released CORUM 5.0, encompassing 7193 protein complexes, is the largest dataset of manually curated mammalian protein complexes publicly available. This update represents the most significant upgrade to the database in >15 years. At present, the molecular processes in cells that are influenced by drugs are only incompletely understood. In this latest release, we have begun systematically investigating the impact of drugs on protein complexes. Our studies are based on a dataset from DrugCentral comprising 725 protein drug targets with approved drugs and known mechanisms of action. To date, we have identified 1975 instances from the literature where a drug affects the formation and/or function of a protein complex. Numerous examples highlight the crucial role of understanding drug-protein complex relationships in drug efficacy. The expanded dataset and the inclusion of drug effects on protein complexes are expected to significantly enhance the utility and application potential of CORUM 5.0 in fields such as network medicine and pharmacological research.