Analysis of biologically active substances in humans hints at 'central proteome'

The 'central proteome' of humans - the set of proteins which occurs in all individuals - can be approximated from multiple analyses of biologically active substances in the population, say researchers.

A team at the Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna write in BMC Systems Biology that the areas of overlap seen in multiple studies indicate the proteins that fall into the central proteome.

Using protein identification bioinformatics and mass spectrometry, the scientists identify 1,124 biologically active substances they believe represent the central proteome in humans.

"Our data and analysis provide a new and deeper description of the human central proteome compared to previous results, thereby extending and complementing our knowledge of commonly expressed human proteins," they write.

Among the intriguing outcomes of their research is the revelation that more than ten per cent of the central proteome appears to have very limited functional annotation attached to it, or no known function whatsoever.

BMC Systems Biology specialises in disseminating research relating to cellular, molecular and organismal biological processes.