This web page was produced as an assignment for Genetics 677, an undergraduate course at UW-Madison.
Interactions
The below schematic on the left was generated using STRING, a functional protein association database. STRING shows a variety of connections that may occur between two proteins. The connecting lines are colored depending on what kind of connection exists between the two proteins in each side. It is important to remember that some connections represent direct interaction between proteins while others may simply mean that two proteins can be located in the same journal article. The image on the right is the key to determine why two proteins exist in a network together.
Analysis
STRING allows one to look at the interaction network of all the Fgfr2 homolog. This network is fairly well conserved across species. This is not surprising since fibroblast growth factors are very important in development, and, therefore, we would expect the pathways in which they function to be conserved. By expanding the network, one can see that several more proteins are involved in the various Fgf pathways. Whether the Fgfr2 protein is interacting abnormally in Crouzon Syndrome with one or more of the many proteins in this network is not yet known.
References
1. von Mering C, Huynen M, Jaeggi D, Schmidt S, Bork P, Snel B. (2003). STRING: a database of predicted functional associations between proteins. Nucleic Acid Res 31 (1): 258-61. PMID:12519996