Databases of literature-curated protein-protein interactions (PPIs) are often used to interpret highthroughput interactome mapping studies and estimate error rates. These databases combine interactions across thousands of published studies and experimental techniques. Because the tendency for two proteins to interact depends on the local conditions, this heterogeneity of conditions means that only a subset of database PPIs are interacting during any given experiment. A typical use of these databases as gold standards in interactome mapping projects, however, assumes that PPIs included in the database are indeed interacting under the experimental conditions of the study. |