Center for Cancer Research Nanobiology Program, SAIC-Frederick, Inc., NCI-Frederick, Frederick, MD 21702, USA.
Trends Biochem Sci. 2009 Dec;34(12):594-600. doi: 10.1016/j.tibs.2009.07.007.
How can a single hub protein bind so many different partners? Numerous studies have sought differences between hubs and non-hubs to explain what makes a protein a hub and how a shared hub-binding site can be promiscuous, yet at the same time be specific. Here, we suggest that the problem is largely non-existent and resides in the popular representation of protein interaction networks: protein products derived from a single gene, even if different, are clustered in maps into a single node. This leads to the impression that a single protein binds to a very large number of partners. In reality, it does not; rather, protein networks reflect the combination of multiple proteins, each with a distinct conformation.
单一的枢纽蛋白如何能结合如此多不同的伴侣?许多研究试图找出枢纽蛋白和非枢纽蛋白之间的差异,以解释是什么使蛋白质成为枢纽蛋白,以及共享的枢纽结合位点如何能够同时具有混杂性,同时又具有特异性。在这里,我们认为这个问题在很大程度上并不存在,而在于蛋白质相互作用网络的流行表示方式:即使来自不同基因的蛋白质产物不同,它们也会在图谱中聚集到单个节点中。这导致了一种印象,即单一蛋白质结合了非常大量的伴侣。但实际上并非如此;相反,蛋白质网络反映了多种蛋白质的组合,每种蛋白质都具有独特的构象。