Determining protein–protein functional associations by functional rules based on gene ontology and KEGG pathway

Protein–protein interactions (PPIs) describe the direct physical contact of two proteins that usually results in specific biological functions or regulatory processes. The characterization and study of PPIs through the investigation of their pattern and principle have remained a question in biological studies. Various experimental and computational methods have been used for PPI studies, but most of them are based on the sequence similarity with current validated PPI participators or cellular localization patterns. Most methods ignore the fact that PPIs are defined by their specific biological functions. In this study, we constructed a novel rule-based computational method using gene ontology and KEGG pathway annotation of PPI participators that correspond to the complicated biological effects of PPIs. Our newly presented computational method identified a group of biological functions that are tightly associated with PPIs and provided a new function-based tool for PPI studies in a rule manner.