Bioinformatics Advance Access published online on April 23, 2008
Bioinformatics, doi:10.1093/bioinformatics/btn200
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A Global Pathway Crosstalk Network
Computational Biology, GlaxoSmithKline R&D, 709 Swedeland Road, UMW2230, King of Prussia, PA 19406
*To whom correspondence should be addressed. Dr. Yong Li, E-mail: yong.2.li{at}gsk.com
| Abstract |
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Motivation: Given the complex nature of biological systems, pathways often need to function in a coordinated fashion in order to produce appropriate physiological responses to both internal and external stimuli (Hartwell et al., 1999). Therefore, understanding the interaction and crosstalk between pathways is important for understanding the function of both cells and more complex systems.
Results: We have developed a computational approach to detect crosstalk among pathways based on protein interactions between the pathway components. We built a global mammalian pathway crosstalk network that includes 580 pathways (covering 4,753 genes) with 1,815 edges between pathways. This crosstalk network follows a power-law distribution: P(k)
k-
,
= 1.45, where P(k) is the number of pathways with k neighbors, thus pathway interactions may exhibit the same scale-free phenomenon that has been documented for protein interaction networks. We further used this network to understand colorectal cancer progression to metastasis based on transcriptomic data.
Contact: yong.2.li{at}gsk.com
Associate Editor: Dr. Limsoon Wong
Received on July 11, 2007; revised on April 3, 2008; accepted on April 21, 2008
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