Proteomic Characterization of Protein-Protein Interactions

Abstract

Identifying all the molecular components within a living cell is the first step into understanding how it functions. To further understand how a cell functions requires identifying the interactions that occur between these components. This fact is especially relevant for proteins. No protein within a human cell functions on its own without interacting with another biomolecule - usually another protein. While Protein-Protein Interactions (PPI) have historically been determined by examining a single protein per study, novel technologies developed over the past couple of decades are enabling high-throughput methods that aim to describe entire protein networks within cells. In this review, some of the technologies that have led to these developments are described along with applications of these techniques. Ultimately the goal of these technologies is to map out the entire circuitry of PPI within human cells to be able to predict the global consequences of perturbations to the cell system. This predictive capability will have major impacts on the future of both disease diagnosis and treatment.