This web page was produced as an assignment for Genetics 564, an undergraduate capstone course at UW-Madison.
What are protein interaction networks?
Protein interaction networks depict a global view of protein-protein interactions (PPI). PPIs are highly specific physical contacts between two or more proteins. Protein interactions help deduce the functions of proteins that little is know about and it is very important in understanding Human disease since many diseases are caused by aberrant interactions. There are many methods to discover and explore PPIs including: the Yeast two hybrid screen, affinity purification coupled to spectrometry, and bioinformatic methods (text-mining).
Below the PPIs of GALT of various organisms are shown. These were all generated with the online tool STRING, which is database of all known and predicted PPI.
Below the PPIs of GALT of various organisms are shown. These were all generated with the online tool STRING, which is database of all known and predicted PPI.
GALT interaction networks
In the below networks each organism has interactions between GALT and the various proteins required for galactose catabolism (GALE, GALK, PGM1, and PGM2). One interaction in humans and mice that is interesting is with B4GALT, which encodes a galactosyltransferase. This gene is involved in lactose production and responsible for the synthesis of complex-type N-linked oligosaccharides in many glycoproteins. Since aberrant glycosylation is thought to be the one of underlying causes of galactosemia [1], this interaction may be important to understanding the pathology of galactosemia.
Mouse and Human GALT interaction networks
Mouse
Human
The interactions of GALT in mice and humans reveals a highly interconnected network with a diverse range of cellular processes. This analysis showed that GALT is intimately linked to proteins involved in glycosylation and other carbon metabolic functions. The networks are also very similar between mice and humans.
Conclusions
GALT interacts with the other protein involved in galactose catabolism as expected. When comparing Human to mice, the over all interaction network is very similar and show a diverse connect to carbon metabolic processes. Most interesting are the interactions with proteins involved in protein glycosylation.
References
1. Balakrishnan et al. Galactose-1 phosphate uridylyltransferase (GalT) gene: A novel positive regulator of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway in mouse fibroblasts. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2016;470:205-212
Last updated: 04/09/2017
Last updated: 04/09/2017