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Computational Methods for Predicting Protein-Protein Interactions

  • Chapter
Proteomics and Protein-Protein Interactions

Part of the book series: Protein Reviews ((PRON,volume 3))

Abstract

Protein-protein interactions perform an integral role in a diverse range of cellular and extracellular processes. These interactions provide a means for cells to communicate both internally and externally; they facilitate the anabolic and catabolic reactions of metabolism; they are important for transcriptional and translational control; and they are also important in maintaining cell structure. These examples are by no means exhaustive, however. Understanding these protein-protein interactions is a very important area of research in light of their global implications. Moreover, the knowledge of how to predict these interactions would be extremely useful and could be exploited to block these interactions as a therapeutic intervention, for example, and also to implicate novel functional interactions. However, prediction of these interactions is by no means trivial, as many layers of complexity must be considered, but without any definitive rules that can be applied. This chapter highlights some of these complexities, describes available databases and repositories of protein-protein interactions, and discusses some of the main methods that are currently used to predict these interactions.

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  1. Computer Science Department, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK

    A. Walker-Taylor & D. T. Jones

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  1. Institute of Structural Molecular Biology, Birkbeck and University College London, UK

    Gabriel Waksman

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Walker-Taylor, A., Jones, D.T. (2005). Computational Methods for Predicting Protein-Protein Interactions. In: Waksman, G. (eds) Proteomics and Protein-Protein Interactions. Protein Reviews, vol 3. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-24532-4_5

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