Hereditary disease genes found throughout the human body

Press release from PLOS Computational Biology

2014-06-13

(Press-News.org) A new study published in PLOS Computational Biology shows that genes associated with hereditary diseases occur throughout the human body.

The study, by Esti Yeger-Lotem et al., used network biology to model the interactions between proteins associated with diseases such as Parkinson's in different tissues. Using these networks, they show that proteins carrying the disease are found throughout the body.

In tissues vulnerable to hereditary diseases, the networked proteins had unique interactions relevant for the mechanism of the disease. Disease causing genes tend to be more highly expressed. The authors demonstrated through several examples that tissue-specific protein interaction can highlight disease mechanisms, and thus, owing to their small number, provide a powerful filter for interrogating the origins of disease.

These results offer a powerful filter that can enhance the search for new therapeutic targets for many hereditary diseases.

INFORMATION: All works published in PLOS Computational Biology are open access, which means that everything is immediately and freely available. Use this URL in your coverage to provide readers access to the paper upon publication: http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info:doi/pcbi.1003632

Contact: Dr. Esti Yeger-Lotem
Phone: +972-8-6428675
Email: estiyl@bgu.ac.il

Citation: Barshir R, Shwartz O, Smoly IY, Yeger-Lotem E (2014) Comparative Analysis of Human Tissue Interactomes Reveals Factors Leading to Tissue-Specific Manifestation of Hereditary Diseases. PLoS Comput Biol 10(6): e1003632. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003632

Funding: This research was supported by the European Union Seventh Programme under the FP7-PEOPLE-MCA-IRG Funding scheme through grant agreement nu [256360]; by the Israel Cancer Association, Israel; and by the Israel Science Foundation administered by the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities through grant number 860/13 (to EYL). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

About PLOS Computational Biology PLOS Computational Biology features works of exceptional significance that further our understanding of living systems at all scales through the application of computational methods. All works published in PLOS Computational Biology are open access. Everything is immediately available subject only to the condition that the original authorship and source are properly attributed. Copyright is retained. For more information, visit http://www.ploscompbiol.org, and follow @PLOSCompBiol on Twitter.

About the Public Library of Science PLOS is a nonprofit organization that accelerates progress in science and medicine by leading a transformation in research communication. For more information, visit http://www.plos.org.

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