Microproteins in Human Physiology and Pathology

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Genomics
• Molecular Biology

Background:

• Microproteins, defined as polypeptides ≤150 amino acids, are increasingly identified.
• Small open reading frames (sORFs) encode a growing number of these microproteins.
• Many microproteins are evolutionarily recent and species-specific.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review current methodologies for identifying and characterizing novel microproteins.
• To summarize the biological functions of microproteins in human physiology and pathology.
• To discuss the translational potential of microproteins in disease diagnosis and therapy.

Main Methods:

• Integrated application of ribosome profiling (Ribo-Seq), mass spectrometry, and bioinformatics.
• Comparative genomics and evolutionary analysis for microprotein identification.
• Functional assays to determine biological activity of identified microproteins.

Main Results:

• Advances in multi-omics approaches have significantly expanded the catalog of known microproteins.
• Biologically active microproteins are implicated in essential physiological and pathological processes.
• Evidence suggests microproteins play crucial roles in human health and disease.

Conclusions:

• Microprotein research is rapidly evolving, with new identification and characterization techniques emerging.
• Microproteins represent a promising area for developing novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.
• Further investigation into microprotein functions will unlock their full clinical potential.