BioPlex (biophysical interactions of ORFeome-based complexes) is an open access resource for studying

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respon ...

-protein interactions. It is the result of collaborations between

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools ...

and

Biogen Biogen Inc. is an American multinational biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, specializing in the discovery, development, and delivery of therapies for the treatment of neurological diseases to patients worldwide. History ...

. BioPlex 1.0 reported 23,744 interactions among 7,668 proteins. BioPlex 2.0 extended those observations to detect over 29,000 new interactions. The basic technology is to express a "bait" protein in human cells. Those bait proteins interact with other proteins, and then the complexes of the bait and "prey" proteins are isolated by affinity purification. The interacting prey proteins are identified using

mass spectrometry Mass spectrometry (MS) is an analytical technique that is used to measure the mass-to-charge ratio of ions. The results are presented as a '' mass spectrum'', a plot of intensity as a function of the mass-to-charge ratio. Mass spectrometry is u ...

Use in research

Determining the interaction partners of poorly characterized proteins can provide clues to the function of those proteins, and knowing which "protein community" a disease gene resides in can give better context for its action.

References

{{reflist Proteomics Biological databases

Use in research

See also

References