Integrated Network-Based Analysis of Diseases Associated with Amyloid Deposition Through a Disease–Protein–Drug Network

Abstract

Background: At present, the complexity that governs the associations between different biological entities is understood better than ever before, owing to high-throughput techniques and systems biology. Networks of interactions are necessary not only for the visualization of these complex relationships but also because their analysis tends to be valuable for the extraction of novel biological knowledge. Methods: For this reason, we constructed a disease–protein–drug network, focusing on a category of rare protein-misfolding diseases, known as amyloidoses, and on other pathological conditions also associated with amyloid deposition. Apart from the amyloidogenic proteins that self-assemble into fibrils, we also included other co-deposited proteins found in amyloid deposits. Results: In this work, protein–protein, protein–drug, and disease–drug associations were collected to create a heterogenous network. Through disease-based and drug-based analyses, we highlighted commonalities between diseases and proposed an approved drug with prospects of repurposing. Conclusions: The identified disease associations and drug candidates are proposed for further study that will potentially help treat diseases associated with amyloid deposition.

Keywords

• amyloidoses
• computational biology
• disease–protein–drug network
• network biology
• protein-misfolding diseases