Approaches for using protein-protein interaction networks for biological discovery

It is hard to think of a biological process in which protein-protein interactions (PPIs) do not play an essential role. Thus, in collective efforts over the last two decades comprehensive sets of human PPIs have been curated from the scientific literature or identified in systematic, proteome-wide mapping efforts. These resources build large PPI networks with an amazing potential to advance our understanding of individual gene function towards a systems understanding of cellular organisation.

This webinar will provide important insights into technical biases that should be considered when using PPI data for system-wide analyses. It will explain theory and practical considerations when performing statistical tests on PPI networks to determine whether selected proteins (i.e. that share a disease association) tend to interact with each other or for the prediction of gene function using guilt-by-association principles.

Who is this course for?

This webinar is suitable for any researchers in life sciences who are interested in studying protein-protein interactions.

Outcomes

By the end of the webinar you will be able to:

• Identify potentials and limits in using protein-protein interaction networks for biological discovery
• Determine whether selected proteins tend to interact with each other
• Use protein-protein interaction networks to predict gene function and protein complex membership