Project will accelerate the development of precision diagnostics and therapeutics
Now that the Human Genome Project has officially wrapped, an international team of researchers will map the entire collection of proteins in the human body.
Plans and goals for the Human Proteoform Project were outlined in a paper published last in the journal Science Advances. The large undertaking will characterize known proteoforms (specific protein molecules) as well as aim to systematically discover and analyze new ones in human tissues, cells and fluids.
“We are all built of proteins, and most drugs target proteins,” said Northwestern University’s Neil Kelleher, a world-renowned proteomics pioneer and corresponding author of the paper. “But understanding proteins is an open frontier. Like other seminal moments in science and technology, this project will serve as a major achievement that can help us more fully understand proteins’ role in all types of disease, aging and new therapeutics.”