title: A network analysis of cofactor-protein interactions for analyzing associations between human nutrition and diseases.
abstract: The involvement of vitamins and other micronutrients in intermediary metabolism was elucidated in the mid 1900's at the level of individual biochemical reactions. Biochemical pathways remain the foundational knowledgebase for understanding how micronutrient adequacy modulates health in all life stages. Current daily recommended intakes were usually established on the basis of the association of a single nutrient to a single, most sensitive adverse effect and thus neglect interdependent and pleiotropic effects of micronutrients on biological systems. Hence, the understanding of the impact of overt or sub-clinical nutrient deficiencies on biological processes remains incomplete. Developing a more complete view of the role of micronutrients and their metabolic products in protein-mediated reactions is of importance. We thus integrated and represented cofactor-protein interaction data from multiple and diverse sources into a multi-layer network representation that links cofactors, cofactor-interacting proteins, biological processes, and diseases. Network representation of this information is a key feature of the present analysis and enables the integration of data from individual biochemical reactions and protein-protein interactions into a systems view, which may guide strategies for targeted nutritional interventions aimed at improving health and preventing diseases.
authors.affiliation: The Microsoft Research - University of Trento Centre for Computational and Systems Biology (COSBI), Rovereto (TN), Italy.
authors.forename: Marie Pier
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Scott-Boyer
authors.affiliation: The Microsoft Research - University of Trento Centre for Computational and Systems Biology (COSBI), Rovereto (TN), Italy.
authors.forename: Sébastien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lacroix
authors.affiliation: The Microsoft Research - University of Trento Centre for Computational and Systems Biology (COSBI), Rovereto (TN), Italy.|GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scotti
authors.affiliation: The Microsoft Research - University of Trento Centre for Computational and Systems Biology (COSBI), Rovereto (TN), Italy.
authors.forename: Melissa J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Morine
authors.affiliation: Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Jim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kaput
authors.affiliation: The Microsoft Research - University of Trento Centre for Computational and Systems Biology (COSBI), Rovereto (TN), Italy.|Department of Mathematics, University of Trento, Italy.
authors.forename: Corrado
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Priami
mesh_terms: D003067:Coenzymes / Q000378:metabolism*; D030541:Databases, Genetic; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D006801:Humans; D018977:Micronutrients; D008954:Models, Biological; D009752:Nutritional Status; D009928:Organ Specificity / Q000235:genetics; D011485:Protein Binding; D025941:Protein Interaction Mapping; D060066:Protein Interaction Maps; D011506:Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D003067:Coenzymes; D018977:Micronutrients; D011506:Proteins