The role of disorder in interaction networks: a structural analysis

Recent studies have emphasized the value of including structural information into the topological analysis of protein networks. Here, we utilized structural information to investigate the role of intrinsic disorder in these networks. Hub proteins tend to be more disordered than other proteins (i.e. the proteome average); however, we find this only true for those with one or two binding interfaces ('single'-interface hubs). In contrast, the distribution of disordered residues in multi-interface hubs is indistinguishable from the overall proteome. Surprisingly, we find that the binding interfaces in single-interface hubs are highly structured, as is the case for multi-interface hubs. However, the binding partners of single-interface hubs tend to have a higher level of disorder than the proteome average, suggesting that their binding promiscuity is related to the disorder of their binding partners. In turn, the higher level of disorder of single-interface hubs can be partly explained by their tendency to bind to each other in a cascade. A good illustration of this trend can be found in signaling pathways and, more specifically, in kinase cascades. Finally, our findings have implications for the current controversy related to party and date-hubs.