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Updated: Dec 28, 2025
Biomimetic Materials to Characterize Bacteria-host Interactions
Published on: November 16, 2015
HMI-PRED: A Web Server for Structural Prediction of Host-Microbe Interactions Based on Interface Mimicry
Emine Guven-Maiorov1, Asma Hakouz2, Sukejna Valjevac2
1Computational Structural Biology Section, Basic Science Program, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD, 21702, USA.
Abstract:
Microbes, commensals, and pathogens, control the numerous functions in the host cells. They can alter host signaling and modulate immune surveillance by interacting with the host proteins. For shedding light on the contribution of microbes to health and disease, it is vital to discern how microbial proteins rewire host signaling and through which host proteins they do this. Host-Microbe Interaction PREDictor (HMI-PRED) is a user-friendly web server for structural prediction of protein-protein interactions (PPIs) between the host and a microbial species, including bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa. HMI-PRED relies on "interface mimicry" through which the microbial proteins hijack host binding surfaces. Given the structure of a microbial protein of interest, HMI-PRED will return structural models of potential host-microbe interaction (HMI) complexes, the list of host endogenous and exogenous PPIs that can be disrupted, and tissue expression of the microbe-targeted host proteins. The server also allows users to upload homology models of microbial proteins. Broadly, it aims at large-scale, efficient identification of HMIs. The prediction results are stored in a repository for community access. HMI-PRED is free and available at https://interactome.ku.edu.tr/hmi.
Insights
Microbial proteins can hijack host cells by mimicking binding surfaces, altering host signaling and immune responses. The HMI-PRED web server predicts these host-microbe interactions (HMIs) to understand their role in health and disease.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Structural Biology
- Bioinformatics
Background:
- Microbes interact with host cells, influencing functions and immune responses.
- Understanding microbial protein interactions with host proteins is crucial for discerning their role in health and disease.
- Microbial proteins can rewire host signaling pathways through protein-protein interactions (PPIs).
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a user-friendly web server for predicting structural protein-protein interactions (PPIs) between host and microbial species.
- To identify how microbial proteins hijack host binding surfaces via "interface mimicry".
- To facilitate large-scale, efficient identification of host-microbe interactions (HMIs).
Main Methods:
- HMI-PRED utilizes structural prediction of PPIs between host and microbial proteins.
- The server employs the "interface mimicry" principle for predicting interactions.
- Users can input microbial protein structures or homology models to predict HMIs.
Main Results:
- HMI-PRED provides structural models of potential host-microbe interaction (HMI) complexes.
- It lists host endogenous and exogenous PPIs that can be disrupted by microbial proteins.
- The server also predicts the tissue expression of microbe-targeted host proteins.
Conclusions:
- HMI-PRED is a valuable tool for predicting structural host-microbe interactions.
- The server aids in understanding how microbial proteins affect host signaling and PPIs.
- Prediction results are stored in a repository for community access, promoting research on HMIs.
