Entropy-Based Graph Clustering of PPI Networks for Predicting Overlapping Functional Modules of Proteins

Abstract

Functional modules can be predicted using genome-wide protein–protein interactions (PPIs) from a systematic perspective. Various graph clustering algorithms have been applied to PPI networks for this task. In particular, the detection of overlapping clusters is necessary because a protein is involved in multiple functions under different conditions. graph entropy (GE) is a novel metric to assess the quality of clusters in a large, complex network. In this study, the unweighted and weighted GE algorithm is evaluated to prove the validity of predicting function modules. To measure clustering accuracy, the clustering results are compared to protein complexes and Gene Ontology (GO) annotations as references. We demonstrate that the GE algorithm is more accurate in overlapping clusters than the other competitive methods. Moreover, we confirm the biological feasibility of the proteins that occur most frequently in the set of identified clusters. Finally, novel proteins for the additional annotation of GO terms are revealed.

Keywords

• protein–protein interaction networks
• PPI networks
• functional modules
• protein complexes
• graph clustering
• graph entropy