Human Proteome Project launches in Sydney

It’s the Next Big Thing in understanding human biology and the natural successor to the Human Genome Project. It’s the Human Proteome Project (HPP), and it was launched this morning by some of the leading figures in proteomics to a room filled with Australian an international delegates attending the HUPO World Congress in Darling Harbour in Sydney.

The worldwide proteomics field is poised to embark on such a mammoth collaborative venture, said Gil Omenn, from the Center for Computational Medicine & Bioinformatics at the University of Michigan, and one of the leaders of the HPP. “It’s what we feel the field is ready to do,” he said.

The HPP seeks to produce a reference map of the entire human proteome through the combined efforts of hundreds of labs and researchers from around the globe.

The Human Genome Project revealed around 22,000 protein coding genes, but each of those proteins can undergo substantial post-translational modification, effectively multiplying the sum total of proteins that need to be characterised in the HPP. The total number may be several hundred thousand proteins and variations.

The HPP will also be more than just a catalogue of proteins; it seeks to add information on localisation, function and interaction, and will cover all tissue types in the body as well as proteins related to diseases.

The launch was kicked off by HPP working group project manager, and driving force behind the project, Pierre Legrain, outlining the broad objectives of the HPP. Legrain described the three ‘pillars’ of the project, which are mass spectroscopy, antibody profiling and informatics to store and share the information.

The first five years will see research groups in various regions from around the world each focus on a particular chromosome, although individual labs are free to work on their own projects within the broad umbrella of the HPP.

The five year mission will be to produce not only a comprehensive map of human proteins, but to provide tools for the entire proteomics community for further research and to inspire researchers in human health to draw upon the proteomics map for the development of new knowledge and therapies.

The HPP isn’t without controversy, however. The past few years has seen heated debate on the best approach to building a human proteome map, particularly whether it should be a protein-centric approach or whether it should be grounded in the genome.

The final decision to take a gene-centric approach still stirs controversy, as was apparent during the discussion and question time following the official launch announcements.

Several researchers questioned the wisdom of the gene-centric approach and the division of the project into individual chromosomes rather than particular tissue types.

However, when those in the room were asked if they supported the HPP and intended to get involved with their own research labs, the response was an almost unanimous ‘yes’.