The Human Proteoform Project: Defining the human proteome.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 34767442.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/sciadv.abk0734 and PMC identifier 8589312.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Proteins are the primary effectors of function in biology, and thus, complete knowledge of their structure and properties is fundamental to deciphering function in basic and translational research. The chemical diversity of proteins is expressed in their many proteoforms, which result from combinations of genetic polymorphisms, RNA splice variants, and posttranslational modifications. This knowledge is foundational for the biological complexes and networks that control biology yet remains largely unknown. We propose here an ambitious initiative to define the human proteome, that is, to generate a definitive reference set of the proteoforms produced from the genome. Several examples of the power and importance of proteoform-level knowledge in disease-based research are presented along with a call for improved technologies in a two-pronged strategy to the Human Proteoform Project.