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A global protein interactome ensures the maintenance of regulatory, signaling and structural processes in cells, but at the same time, aberrations in the repertoire of protein–protein interactions usually cause a disease onset. Many metabolic enzymes catalyze multistage transformation of cholesterol precursors in the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway. Cancer-associated deregulation of these enzymes through various molecular mechanisms results in pathological cholesterol accumulation (its precursors) which can be disease risk factors. This work is aimed at systematization and bioinformatic analysis of the available interactomics data on seventeen enzymes in the cholesterol pathway, encoded by HMGCR, MVK, PMVK, MVD, FDPS, FDFT1, SQLE, LSS, DHCR24, CYP51A1, TM7SF2, MSMO1, NSDHL, HSD17B7, EBP, SC5D, DHCR7 genes. The spectrum of 165 unique and 21 common protein partners that physically interact with target enzymes was selected from several interatomic resources. Among them there were 47 modifying proteins from different protein kinases/phosphatases and ubiquitin-protein ligases/deubiquitinases families. A literature search, enrichment and gene co-expression analysis showed that about a quarter of the identified protein partners was associated with cancer hallmarks and over-represented in cancer pathways. Our results allow to update the current fundamental view on protein–protein interactions and regulatory aspects of the cholesterol synthesis enzymes and annotate of their sub-interactomes in term of possible involvement in cancers that will contribute to prioritization of protein targets for future drug development.

Thromboxane synthase (TBXAS1) catalyzes the isomerization reaction of prostaglandin H2 producing thromboxane A2, the autocrine and paracrine factor in many cell types. A high activity and metastability by these arachidonic acid derivatives suggests the existence of supramolecular structures that are involved in the regulation of the biosynthesis and directed translocation of thromboxane to the receptor. The objective of this study was to identify TBXAS1 protein partners from human liver tissue lysate using a complex approach based on the direct molecular fishing technique, LC-MS/MS protein identification, and protein-protein interaction validation by surface plasmon resonance (SPR). As a result, 12 potential TBXAS1 protein partners were identified, including the components regulating cytoskeleton organization (BBIP1 and ANKMY1), components of the coagulation cascade of human blood (SERPINA1, SERPINA3, APOH, FGA, and FN1), and the enzyme involved in the metabolism of xenobiotics and endogenous bioregulators (CYP2E1). SPR validation on the Biacore 3000 biosensor confirmed the effectiveness of the interaction between CYP2E1 (the enzyme that converts prostaglandin H2 to 12-HHT/thromboxane A2 proantagonist) and TBXAS1 (Kd = (4.3 ± 0.4) × 10-7 M). Importantly, the TBXAS1•CYP2E1 complex formation increases fivefold in the presence of isatin (indole-2,3-dione, a low-molecular nonpeptide endogenous bioregulator, a product of CYP2E1). These results suggest that the interaction between these hemoproteins is important in the regulation of the biosynthesis of eicosanoids.