Spastin and alsin protein interactome analyses begin to reveal key canonical pathways and suggest novel druggable targets

Developing effective and long-term treatment strategies for rare and complex neurodegenerative diseases is challenging. One of the major roadblocks is the extensive heterogeneity among patients. This hinders understanding the underlying disease-causing mechanisms and building solutions that have implications for a broad spectrum of patients. One potential solution is to develop personalized medicine approaches based on strategies that target the most prevalent cellular events that are perturbed in patients. Especially in patients with a known genetic mutation, it may be possible to understand how these mutations contribute to problems that lead to neurodegeneration. Protein–protein interaction analyses offer great advantages for revealing how proteins interact, which cellular events are primarily involved in these interactions, and how they become affected when key genes are mutated in patients. This line of investigation also suggests novel druggable targets for patients with different mutations. Here, we focus on alsin and spastin, two proteins that are identified as “causative” for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and hereditary spastic paraplegia, respectively, when mutated. Our review analyzes the protein interactome for alsin and spastin, the canonical pathways that are primarily important for each protein domain, as well as compounds that are either Food and Drug Administration–approved or are in active clinical trials concerning the affected cellular pathways. This line of research begins to pave the way for personalized medicine approaches that are desperately needed for rare neurodegenerative diseases that are complex and heterogeneous.

Potential role of the protein interactome in translating TCM theory and clinical practice into modern biomedical knowledge

With the awarding of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Chinese pharmacologist Tu Youyou,and the significant contributions of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)for coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19),TCM has garnered increasing attention and interest globally.Although advanced research progress has been made in the efficacy research,mechanism elucidation and target prediction of TCM in recent years[1].

Protein Interactome Analysis for Countering Pathogen Drug Resistance

Drug-resistant varieties of pathogens are now a recognized global threat. Insights into the routes for drug resistance in these pathogens are critical for developing more effective antibacterial drugs. A systems-level analysis of the genes, proteins, and interactions involved is an important step to gaining such insights. This paper discusses some of the computational challenges that must be surmounted to enable such an analysis; viz., unreliability of bacterial interactome maps, paucity of bacterial interactome maps, and identification of pathways to bacterial drug resistance.

TurboID Proximity Labeling of a Protocadherin Protein to Characterize Interacting Protein Complex

The study of the neuron has always been a fundamental aspect when it came to studying mental illnesses such as autism and depression. The protein protocadherin-9 (PCDH9) is an important transmembrane protein in the development of the neuron synapse. Hence, research on its protein interactome is key to understanding its functionality and specific properties. A newly discovered biotin ligase, TurboID, is a proximity labeler that is designed to be able to label and observe transmembrane proteins, something that previous methods struggled with. The TurboID method is verified in HEK293T cells and primary cultured mouse cortical neurons. Results have proven the validity of the TurboID method in observing PCDH9-interacting proteins.

The BLOC Interactomes Form a Network in Endosomal Transport

With the identification of more than a dozen novel Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome （HPS） proteins in vesicle trafficking in higher eukaryotes, a new class of trafficking pathways has been described. It mainly consists of three newly-defined protein com- plexes, BLOC-l, -2, and -3. Compelling evidence indicates that these complexes together with two other well-known complexes, AP3 and HOPS, play important roles in endosomal transport. The interactions between these complexes form a network in protein trafficking via endosomes and cytoskeleton. Each node of this network has intra-complex and extra-complex interactions. These complexes are connected by direct interactions between the subunits from different complexes or by indirect interactions through coupling nodes that interact with two or more subunits from different complexes. The dissection of this network facilitates the understanding of a dynamic but elaborate transport machinery in protein/membrane trafficking. The disruption of this network may lead to abnormal trafficking or defective organellar development as described in patients with Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome.