Fernando Corrales, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología, CSIC, Spain
One of the main goals of the Biology and Disease Human Proteome Project (B/D-HPP) is to unveil the molecular basis of physiological/pathological processes by the identification of the driver proteins involved. To guide studies in this direction, B/D HPP initiatives have been encouraged to configure lists of popular proteins in their specific areas (highly cited proteins in association with the topic of interest) to generate functional hypothesis and to pave the way for new clinical developments. The 2017 HPP Special Issue published in the Journal of Proteome Research collect two reports highlighting the usefulness of the popular protein approach. These studies demonstrate the principal role of the reconfiguration of one carbon metabolism in the liver during hepatocarcinogenesis and the development of a targeted method to monitor B-type natriuretic peptidoforms that might prove to be useful for the diagnosis and monitorization of heart failure. The development of multiplexed MS-based targeted method to monitor the disease-associated protein/peptides offer new opportunities in the clinical setting. Moreover, a major update of the human plasma proteome that integrates now 3509 proteins was reported. Finally, the in depth analysis of the synaptosomal proteome allowed the association of specific protein expression patterns with social behaviour in patients with schizophrenia. This is an excellent example illustrating the great advantages of establishing joint C- (chromosome 15) and B/D HPP (Brazilian Brain initiative) ventures. The cooperative efforts should guide our next steps in the endeavour of generating a comprehensive human proteome map with all functional annotations needed to decipher the code of life.
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