mint

is an Aggregator.

MINT (The Molecular INTeraction database) is a public and open source database focusing on experimentally verified protein-protein interactions mined from the scientific literature by expert curators. Molecular interactions are annotated according to international PSI-MI standards and follow the PSI-MI controlled vocabulary. MINT is a founder and main member of the IMEx consortium and provides data that is integrated into the IntAct database as part of a single non-redundant open access dataset. As an ELIXIR Core Data Resource and Global Core Biodata Resource, MINT contains over 139,000 interactions involving 27,800+ interactors from 676 organisms extracted from 6,500+ publications.

Domains

proteomics, biomedical, systems biology, biological systems

License

CC BY 4.0

Homepage

mint

Repository

Unknown

Infores ID

Unknown

FAIRsharing ID

Unknown

Product Summary

Products

From this Resource
ID Name URL Category Format Description
mint.portal MINT Web Portal mint.bio.uniroma2.it GraphicalInterface http Web interface for browsing, searching...
mint.mitab.all MINT MITAB Full Dataset * Product psi_mi_mitab Complete MINT dataset in PSI-MI MITAB...
mint.mitab.human MINT Human Interactions species:human Product psi_mi_mitab Human protein interactions from MINT ...
mint.mitab.mouse MINT Mouse Interactions species:mouse Product psi_mi_mitab Mouse protein interactions from MINT ...
mint.psicquic MINT PSICQUIC Web Service webservices ProgrammingInterface PSICQUIC SOAP and REST web services f...
mint.advanced.search MINT Advanced Search advanced-search GraphicalInterface http Advanced search interface for queryin...
From other Resources
ID Name URL Category Format Description
irefindex.database iRefIndex Database Product psi_mi_mitab Historical consolidated protein inter...
string.protein.links STRING Protein Links protein.links.v12.0.txt.gz (128.7 GB) GraphProduct txt protein network data (full network, s...
string.protein.links.detailed STRING Protein Links Detailed protein.links.detailed.v12.0.txt.gz (189.6 GB) GraphProduct txt protein network data (full network, i...
string.protein.links.full STRING Protein Links Full protein.links.full.v12.0.txt.gz (199.6 GB) GraphProduct txt protein network data (full network, i...
string.protein.physical.links STRING Protein Physical Links protein.physical.links.v12.0.txt.gz (11.1 GB) GraphProduct txt protein network data (physical subnet...
string.protein.physical.links.detailed STRING Protein Physical Links Detailed protein.physical.links.detailed.v12.0.txt.gz (13.8 GB) GraphProduct txt protein network data (physical subnet...
string.protein.physical.links.full STRING Protein Physical Links Full protein.physical.links.full.v12.0.txt.gz (14.5 GB) GraphProduct txt protein network data (physical subnet...
string.cog.links STRING COG Links COG.links.v12.0.txt.gz (176.8 MB) GraphProduct txt association scores between orthologou...
string.cog.links.detailed STRING COG Links Detailed COG.links.detailed.v12.0.txt.gz (238.7 MB) GraphProduct txt association scores (incl. subscores p...
string.database STRING Database Network Schema network_schema.v12.0.sql.gz (262.2 GB) GraphProduct full database, part II: the networks ...

Details

Description

MINT (The Molecular INTeraction database) is a comprehensive public repository for experimentally verified protein-protein interactions curated from peer-reviewed scientific literature. Developed and maintained by the University of Rome Tor Vergata, MINT serves as a critical resource for researchers studying molecular interactions and protein networks.

Key Features

Expert Curation

  • Manual curation by expert biologists
  • Extraction of experimental details from published literature
  • Focus on experimentally verified interactions
  • Comprehensive annotation of interaction context and methods

Standards Compliance

  • Annotated according to PSI-MI (Proteomics Standards Initiative - Molecular Interactions) standards
  • Uses PSI-MI controlled vocabulary for consistency
  • Provides data in standard PSI-MI XML and MITAB formats
  • Compatible with PSICQUIC query protocol

Database Statistics (Current)

  • Publications: 6,515 curated papers
  • Interactions: 139,980 protein-protein interactions
  • Interactors: 27,802 unique proteins
  • Organisms: 676 species represented

IMEx Consortium Member

MINT is a founder and one of the main members of the International Molecular Exchange (IMEx) consortium. IMEx resources have merged their efforts to provide comprehensively annotated molecular interaction data integrated into a single, non-redundant, open access dataset stored and available through the IntAct database at EBI.

Core Resources Status

  • ELIXIR Core Data Resource: Recognized as part of the European life sciences infrastructure
  • Global Core Biodata Resource: Designated as essential resource for global biomedical research

Data Access Methods

Web Interface

Interactive portal for:

  • Searching protein interactions
  • Browsing by species, publication, or interaction type
  • Visualizing interaction networks
  • Advanced field-specific queries

Downloads

  • Complete dataset via PSICQUIC web service
  • Species-specific datasets (human, mouse, fly, yeast)
  • PSI-MI MITAB 2.7 format
  • Integration with IntAct for complete IMEx data

Programmatic Access

  • PSICQUIC SOAP web service
  • PSICQUIC REST API
  • Molecular Interactions Query Language (MIQL) support
  • Field-specific queries with boolean operators

Query Capabilities

MIQL Syntax

Based on Lucene’s syntax with support for:

  • Terms: Single words or phrases (brca2, "pull down")
  • Fields: Search specific columns (species:human, detmethod:"two hybrid*")
  • Operators: OR, AND, NOT, +, - (brca2 AND rpa1)
  • Modifiers: Wildcards, fuzzy search, proximity, ranges
  • Grouping: Complex queries with parentheses

Searchable Fields

  • Identifiers (A/B or both)
  • Aliases and alternative names
  • Publication authors and PMIDs
  • Taxonomic IDs and species names
  • Interaction types and detection methods
  • Interaction sources and identifiers

Data Format Standards

PSI-MI MITAB 2.7

Tab-delimited format including:

  • Interactor identifiers and types
  • Interaction detection methods
  • Publication references
  • Organism information
  • Confidence scores
  • Cross-references to other databases

PSI-MI XML

Structured XML format with comprehensive metadata and cross-references for integration with other tools and databases.

Integration and Cross-References

MINT data includes extensive cross-references to:

  • UniProtKB (protein sequences)
  • PubMed (scientific literature)
  • Gene Ontology (functional annotations)
  • Taxonomy databases (organism information)
  • Other interaction databases via IMEx

Community and Support

Citation Guidelines

Users are encouraged to cite:

  • MINT database publications
  • IMEx consortium for integrated data
  • Individual datasets when used in analyses

Data Reuse

All data available under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license, allowing free use with proper attribution.

  • IntAct: Primary repository for integrated IMEx data including MINT
  • IMEx Consortium: International consortium for molecular interaction data exchange
  • PSICQUIC: Standardized web service protocol for accessing interaction databases
  • iRefIndex: Historical consolidated index that included MINT data

Technical Infrastructure

  • Hosted at University of Rome Tor Vergata
  • Part of ELIXIR distributed infrastructure
  • Accessible via redundant web services (EBI PSICQUIC endpoint)
  • Regular updates with new literature curation

Historical Context

MINT was established as one of the first comprehensive protein interaction databases and has been continuously maintained and updated since 2002. As a founding member of IMEx, MINT has played a crucial role in establishing standards for molecular interaction data annotation and exchange.

Future Development

MINT continues to:

  • Expand literature coverage
  • Improve curation workflows
  • Enhance integration with IntAct
  • Support emerging data types
  • Maintain compliance with evolving standards

Is this information incorrect or incomplete? Request an update.

Created: October 31, 2025 | Last modified: October 31, 2025