Title: Peroxisomal interactome mapping enables network-based modelling of function and disease.
Authors: Søren W. Gersting*; Julia V. Cramer*; Philipp Guder*; Amelie S. Lotz-Havla*; Barbara Wolf; Heidi Noll-Puchta; Ralf Erdmann; Ania C. Muntau; Mathias Woidy (*contributed equally)
Abstract: Peroxisomal dysfunction contributes to a broad spectrum of multisystem disorders, yet mechanistic understanding and therapeutic options remain limited, posing significant challenges for clinical management. Network-based computational strategies support hypothesis generation, biomarker discovery, and drug repurposing, but their utility is constrained by incomplete human interactome coverage — especially by scarcity of high-confidence protein-protein interaction (PPI) data for peroxisomal proteins. We present the first comprehensive map of the peroxisomal interactome, generated using an automated, informatics-guided bioluminescence resonance energy transfer strategy. We profiled PPIs for 92 peroxisomal proteins and six isoforms, validating 68% of known interactions and identifying 333 novel ones. Integration with curated PPIs yielded an expanded peroxisomal interactome (ePI), enriched for drug targets and disease-associated proteins. A disease-linked subnetwork enabled prioritization of 29 drug repurposing candidates. Tissue-specific ePI variants, derived from transcriptomic data, revealed distinct functional submodules across 9 tissues. Gene ontology analysis of 1,272 non-peroxisomal interactors suggested pathways contributing to tissue-specific vulnerability. Our approach provides a systems-level framework for mechanistic insight in peroxisomal disease, the identification of treatment targets, and application to other organelle systems.
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