Interactome modeling

A new reviewin FEBS Letters by Marc Vidal explores networks of interacting molecules and their impact on human diseases. To what extent do the statistical interactions we identify in human populations reflect an underlying interactome? Dr. Scott Williams and I explore this question in our recent paper in BioEssays (2005 Jun;27(6):637-46; See my May 18th posting).

Vidal M. Interactome modeling. FEBS Lett. 2005 Mar 21;579(8):1834-8. [PubMed]

Abstract:

A long-term goal of the field of interactome modeling is to understand how global and local properties of complex macromolecular networks impact on observable biological properties, and how changes in such properties can lead to human diseases. The information available at this stage of development of the field provides strong evidence for the existence of such interesting global and local properties, but also demonstrates that many more datasets will be needed to provide accurate models with increasingly predictive capacity. This review focuses on an early attempt at mapping a multicellular interactome network and on the lessons learned from that attempt.