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Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Genome-wide Protein-protein Interaction Screening by Protein-fragment Complementation Assay (PCA) in Living Cells
Published on: March 3, 2015
Protein-protein interaction networks: how can a hub protein bind so many different partners?
Chung-Jung Tsai1, Buyong Ma, Ruth Nussinov
1Center for Cancer Research Nanobiology Program, SAIC-Frederick, Inc., NCI-Frederick, Frederick, MD 21702, USA.
Abstract:
How can a single hub protein bind so many different partners? Numerous studies have sought differences between hubs and non-hubs to explain what makes a protein a hub and how a shared hub-binding site can be promiscuous, yet at the same time be specific. Here, we suggest that the problem is largely non-existent and resides in the popular representation of protein interaction networks: protein products derived from a single gene, even if different, are clustered in maps into a single node. This leads to the impression that a single protein binds to a very large number of partners. In reality, it does not; rather, protein networks reflect the combination of multiple proteins, each with a distinct conformation.
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