This web page was produced as an assignment for Genetics 564, an undergraduate capstone course at UW-Madison.
What is a protein interaction network?
Interactions between proteins are essential to cell processes, so the study of their interactions is important to understand the physiology of cells in normal and diseased states. Protein interaction networks are representations of the contacts between proteins in the cell. Understanding of protein interactions can assign roles to new proteins, describe steps to pathways, and identify relationships of proteins within molecular complexes. [1]
CRY1 Interaction Network
Protein-protein interactions were predicted and analyzed via software STRING.
CRY1 interacts with and regulates the transcription of proteins engaged in the CLOCK/BMAL circadian feedback loop. Proteins interacting with CRY1 involved in the regulation of circadian rhythm are shown in red.
Localized in the nucleus of all peripheral cells, CRY1 also interacts with proteins involved in the DNA damage response mechanisms, in blue, and with proteins responding to oxidative stress and free radicals, in green. CRY1 and CRY2 proteins are both blue-light photoreceptors, cryptochromes in mammals and plants, and photolyases (yellow). |
Similarly in mice, CRY1 interacts with proteins involved in the regulation of the circadian rhythm (red), responses to redox states in cells (green), and DNA damage response (blue).
CRY1 and CRY2 share the same blue-light photoreceptor capabilities as in humans [2] but STRING was not able to predict this interaction. |
Conclusion
Protein interactions between human CRY1 and mouse CRY1 are similar, proving the high conservation established through homology and protein domain conservation. CRY1 is present in the nucleus of peripheral cells where many processes occur to keep the cell alive and replicate. The interaction of CRY1, and therefore other circadian rhythm regulation proteins with proteins involved in damage and stress response in the cell provides additional space for studies reflecting the effects of circadian rhythm regulation and the life cycle and length of a cell. Further studies should also look for changes in protein interactions in damaged or diseased cell states, allowing further understanding of mechanisms behind circadian rhythm disorders.
References.
1. Protein-protein interaction networks. (2016, December 05). Retrieved from https://www.ebi.ac.uk/training/online/course/network-analysis-protein-interaction-data-introduction/protein-protein-interaction-networks
2. Gijsbertus T. J. Van Der Horst, Muijtjens, M., Kobayashi, K., Takano, R., Kanno, S., Takao, M., . . . Yasui, A. (1999). Mammalian Cry1 and Cry2 are essential for maintenance of circadian rhythms. Nature, 398(6728), 627-630. doi:10.1038/19323
Header image.
1. Protein-protein interaction networks. (2016, December 05). Retrieved from https://www.ebi.ac.uk/training/online/course/network-analysis-protein-interaction-data-introduction/protein-protein-interaction-networks
2. Gijsbertus T. J. Van Der Horst, Muijtjens, M., Kobayashi, K., Takano, R., Kanno, S., Takao, M., . . . Yasui, A. (1999). Mammalian Cry1 and Cry2 are essential for maintenance of circadian rhythms. Nature, 398(6728), 627-630. doi:10.1038/19323
Header image.
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Sara Acosta Villarreal Genetics and Genomics, UW-Madison [email protected] Last updated: May 10, 2019 |
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