02784nas a2200301   4500008004100000245006900041210006800110300000800178490000600186520165900192653002501851653002201876653001901898653006101917653007001978653003402048653013602082100001802218700002102236700001702257700002402274700001402298700001402312700001602326700001502342700001902357856010602376       2007                        eng d00aEvidence for systems-level molecular mechanisms of tumorigenesis0 aEvidence for systemslevel molecular mechanisms of tumorigenesis  a1850 v83 aBACKGROUND: Cancer arises from the consecutive acquisition of genetic alterations. Increasing evidence suggests that as a consequence of these alterations, molecular interactions are reprogrammed in the context of highly connected and regulated cellular networks. Coordinated reprogramming would allow the cell to acquire the capabilities for malignant growth. RESULTS: Here, we determine the coordinated function of cancer gene products (i.e., proteins encoded by differentially expressed genes in tumors relative to healthy tissue counterparts, hereafter referred to as "CGPs") defined as their topological properties and organization in the interactome network. We show that CGPs are central to information exchange and propagation and that they are specifically organized to promote tumorigenesis. Centrality is identified by both local (degree) and global (betweenness and closeness) measures, and systematically appears in down-regulated CGPs. Up-regulated CGPs do not consistently exhibit centrality, but both types of cancer products determine the overall integrity of the network structure. In addition to centrality, down-regulated CGPs show topological association that correlates with common biological processes and pathways involved in tumorigenesis. CONCLUSION: Given the current limited coverage of the human interactome, this study proposes that tumorigenesis takes place in a specific and organized way at the molecular systems-level and suggests a model that comprises the precise down-regulation of groups of topologically-associated proteins involved in particular functions, orchestrated with the up-regulation of specific proteins.10a*Cell Transformation10aBiological Models10aGenetic Models10aMessenger/metabolism Signal Transduction Systems Biology10aNeoplastic *Gene Expression Profiling *Gene Expression Regulation10aNeoplastic Humans Male Models10aStatistical Neoplasm Proteins/*physiology Neoplasms/etiology/*genetics Prostatic Neoplasms/genetics Protein Interaction Mapping RNA1 aHernandez, P.1 aHuerta-Cepas, J.1 aMontaner, D.1 aAl-Shahrour, Fatima1 aValls, J.1 aGomez, L.1 aCapella, G.1 aDopazo, J.1 aPujana, M., A.  uhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Citation&list_uids=17584915