Protein interaction networks as metric spaces: a novel perspective on distribution of hubs.

ABSTRACT:

Background

In the post-genomic era, a central and overarching question in the analysis of protein-protein interaction networks continues to be whether biological characteristics and functions of proteins such as lethality, physiological malfunctions and malignancy are intimately linked to the topological role proteins play in the network as a mathematical structure. One of the key features that have implicitly been presumed is the existence of hubs, highly connected proteins considered to play a crucial role in biological networks. We explore the structure of protein interaction networks of a number of organisms as metric spaces and show that hubs are non randomly positioned and, from a distance point of view, centrally located.

Results

By analysing how the human functional

SUBMITTER: Fadhal E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3902029 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature