CAPIH: a Web interface for comparative analyses and visualization of host-HIV protein-protein interactions

Area of Science:

• Virology
• Immunology
• Bioinformatics

Background:

• Human Immunodeficiency Virus type 1 (HIV-1) causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
• Current HIV-1 research relies on chimpanzee, rhesus macaque, and mouse models.
• Host-HIV-1 interaction differences between humans and animal models are largely unexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce CAPIH (Comparative Analysis of Protein Interactions for HIV-1), a novel web-based tool.
• To enable comparative analysis of host-HIV-1 protein interactions between humans and three model organisms.
• To identify genetic variations in host proteins interacting with HIV-1 across species.

Main Methods:

• Developed CAPIH, a web interface for comparative host-HIV-1 protein interaction analysis.
• Analyzed 1,370 orthologous protein sets across human, chimpanzee, rhesus macaque, and mouse.
• Identified genetic changes including amino acid substitutions, insertions/deletions, and potential post-translational modifications.
• Integrated interactive visualization of host-HIV-1 networks, ortholog presence, genetic changes, and functional domains.

Main Results:

• Detected approximately 86,000 amino acid substitutions, 21,000 insertions/deletions, and 33,000 potential post-translational modifications unique to one species.
• Demonstrated significant divergences in disease-associated proteins between humans and model animals.
• Highlighted differences in host-HIV-1 protein interaction networks across the four species.

Conclusions:

• Substantial differences exist in host-HIV-1 protein interactions among humans and model animals.
• Comparative analysis is crucial for accurate translation of findings from animal models to human clinical applications.
• Further integrated network comparisons can advance AIDS research and therapeutic development.