interactome

Definition

An interactome is the complete set of molecular interactions within a cell, organism, or biological system. Most commonly referring to protein-protein interactions (PPI), the term can also encompass protein-DNA, protein-RNA, and metabolite interactions. The interactome represents a comprehensive map of physical and functional relationships between biomolecules, revealing how cellular components work together to execute biological processes. Understanding the interactome is crucial for systems biology approaches, as it provides insights into cellular organization, signal transduction pathways, disease mechanisms, and drug target identification. High-throughput techniques like yeast two-hybrid screening, affinity purification-mass spectrometry, and co-immunoprecipitation are commonly used to map interactomes experimentally.

Visualize interactome in Nodes Bio

Researchers can visualize interactome data as network graphs where nodes represent proteins or other biomolecules and edges represent validated interactions. Nodes Bio enables exploration of protein complexes, identification of hub proteins, analysis of network topology, and integration of multi-omics data layers. Users can overlay expression data, mutation information, or drug targets onto interactome networks to identify key regulatory nodes and potential therapeutic intervention points.

Example Use Case

A cancer research team investigating resistance mechanisms to EGFR inhibitors maps the EGFR interactome in drug-resistant cell lines. By visualizing protein-protein interactions, they discover that resistant cells upregulate alternative receptor tyrosine kinases that form new protein complexes bypassing EGFR blockade. Network analysis reveals a hub protein connecting these compensatory pathways, suggesting it as a combination therapy target. The team validates this hypothesis by showing that dual inhibition of EGFR and the hub protein overcomes resistance in preclinical models.

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