Role for protein-protein interaction databases in human genetics

Abstract

Proteomics and the study of protein-protein interactions are becoming increasingly important in our effort to understand human diseases on a system-wide level. Thanks to the development and curation of protein-interaction databases, up-to-date information on these interaction networks is accessible and publicly available to the scientific community. As our knowledge of protein-protein interactions increases, it is important to give thought to the different ways that these resources can impact biomedical research. In this article, we highlight the importance of protein-protein interactions in human genetics and genetic epidemiology. Since protein-protein interactions demonstrate one of the strongest functional relationships between genes, combining genomic data with available proteomic data may provide us with a more in-depth understanding of common human diseases. In this review, we will discuss some of the fundamentals of protein interactions, the databases that are publicly available and how information from these databases can be used to facilitate genome-wide genetic studies.

Figure 1. Protein-interaction network as displayed in Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins (STRING) when querying ACE

Interactions between angiotensin-converting enzyme, BDKRB2 and AGTR1, are shown. Evidence for these interactions is derived from both experimental evidence (purple lines) and text-mining evidence (green lines). ACE: Angiotensin-converting enzyme; AGTR1: Angiotensin II type I receptor; BDKRB2: Bradykinin B2 gene.