Human Proteoform Project to map proteins in human body

Now that the Human Genome Project has officially finished, an international team of researchers will map the entire collection of proteins in the human body.

Neil Kelleher, the Walter and Mary Glass Professor of Molecular Biosciences and professor of chemistry, will help in the effort, known as the Human Proteoform Project.

The human body comprises at least 20,000 individual genes — and from each gene, proteins are processed into various forms (or proteoforms). For the 20,300 genes, there are millions of unique proteoforms created due to genetic variation, modification or alternative splicing.

“Understanding the exact proteins we are made of is complex and challenging and will require a major global effort,” Kelleher said.

The Human Proteoform Project’s ultimate goal is to establish a definitive and comprehensive Human Proteoform Atlas, a reference set that will be public and available to all, including the many proteomics companies recently advancing in the private sector. In order to develop this extensive, high-quality atlas, researchers must accelerate the development of new, powerful, state-of-the-art technologies for deep proteoform analysis.

“With our global collaborators, we are excited to bring about the next generation of proteomics,” Kelleher said. “Defining the human proteome will allow us to really accelerate the pace of biomedical research and discovery.”

Read more about the initiative in Northwestern Now.