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A genomic perspective on human proteases
1Department of Computational Biology, Gemini Genomics (UK) Ltd, 162 Science Park, Milton Road, CB4 0GH, Cambridge, UK. chris.southan@gemini-genomics.com
FEBS Letters
|June 20, 2001
Summary
Genomic data reveal 498 human proteases, representing 1.6% of the proteome. Further analysis of genomic sequences will enhance understanding of protease function, evolution, and roles in disease, aiding drug target identification.
Area of Science:
- Genomics
- Proteomics
- Bioinformatics
Background:
- Over 400 human proteases are documented in secondary databases.
- Genomic sequence analysis allows for the identification of proteases.
Purpose of the Study:
- To annotate the human proteome for protease identification and characterization.
- To assess the distribution and characteristics of the human protease complement.
- To explore the utility of genomic data for studying protease biology and disease association.
Main Methods:
- Genome Ontology (GO) annotation of human proteome sequences.
- Homology searches against genomic and proteomic databases.
- Comparative analysis of human, mouse, and zebrafish proteases.
Main Results:
- A provisional human proteome set of 30,585 sequences yielded 498 proteases (1.6%).
- The distribution of protease mechanistic classes, families, and domains in genomic data mirrors that in transcript data.
- Genomic data are expected to increase the identified protease count through homology searches and cross-species comparisons.
Conclusions:
- Genomic data provide a robust foundation for studying human proteases.
- Further bioinformatic and biochemical analyses are needed for novel genomic sequences.
- Annotated genomic data will facilitate research into splice variants, transcriptional regulation, polymorphisms, pseudogenes, inactive homologues, evolution, and disease-related protease functions, identifying new drug targets.