Cell-Cell Interaction Database: Protein Network with 38,446 Interactions

Ruth Isserlin at the University of Toronto constructed a cell-cell interaction database by filtering curated protein-protein interaction data. The resource contains a network of 2,593 unique proteins and 38,446 unique interactions, defined from manually curated lists of 1,851 receptor, 1,593 ligand, and 433 extracellular matrix genes. The data was compiled from sources including iRefIndex, Pathway Commons, and BioGRID.

Use Cases

• Modeling cell-cell communication networks based on the defined receptor-ligand interactions.
• Analyzing protein interaction patterns within the manually curated gene sets for receptors, ligands, and ECM components.
• Validating or expanding existing biological pathway knowledge using the filtered interaction data from multiple sources.

Strengths

• Includes 38,446 unique protein-protein interactions, suggesting a substantial network.
• Based on manually curated gene lists, with 1,851 receptor and 1,593 ligand genes defined.
• Aggregates data from multiple established sources: iRefIndex, Pathway Commons, and BioGRID.

Limitations

• Row count and file size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.

Provenance

Source

University of Toronto

Collection Method

Automated construction by filtering existing curated PPI data from iRefIndex, Pathway Commons, and BioGRID, followed by manual curation of gene lists.