Protein-Protein Interaction in Health and Disease
A special issue of Cells (ISSN 2073-4409). This special issue belongs to the section "Cell Signaling".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 May 2026
Special Issue Editors
Interests: breast cancer and TNBC; HGA1/2; LC-MS; protein–protein interaction
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Protein–protein interactions (PPIs) underpin every cellular process, and their dysregulation underlies numerous human diseases.
Recent advances in structural biology, proteomics, microscopy, and computational modeling have significantly advanced our understanding of PPI networks, revealing insights into disease mechanisms and providing therapeutic opportunities.
Among cutting-edge methodologies, mass spectrometry-based approaches have emerged as powerful tools for mapping PPIs. Techniques such as affinity purification (AP), proximity labeling (PL), and immunoprecipitation (IP) coupled with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), as well as cross-linking mass spectrometry (XL-MS), enable comprehensive PPI characterization and reveal how post-translational modifications (PTMs) affect PPIs. In addition, XL-MS enables the identification of transient and weak interactions. Additional powerful methodologies include high-resolution cryo-electron microscopy (EM), which has elucidated dynamic protein complexes previously inaccessible to traditional methods. Furthermore, the advent of artificial intelligence (AI)-driven tools such as AlphaFold is enabling the discovery of novel interactions with therapeutic potential.
This Special Issue solicits original research, comprehensive reviews, and perspectives exploring PPIs across diverse biological scenarios. We invite submissions addressing novel methodologies, disease-relevant PPI networks, structural insights, therapeutic targeting strategies, and computational approaches. Through interdisciplinary collaboration, we aim to advance understanding and treatment of human diseases.
Dr. Riccardo Sgarra
Dr. Sara Petrosino
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- protein–protein interactions
- mass spectrometry
- cross-linking
- disease mechanisms
- structural biology
- proteomics
- therapeutic targets
- protein complexes
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