2015 AAAS Annual Meeting (12-16 February 2015)

February 12 - 16, 2015

Proteomics: How Big Data Opens New Vistas in Personalized Medicine

It has been more than a decade since the human genome was declared “decoded.” Since that time, it has become clear that knowing the DNA only tells half of the story: Genes do provide the script, but the actors on the stage of life are the proteins. Until now, however, proteins have been performing in the shadow of genes. The building blocks that determine biological structures and functions in all living organisms, proteins make life work: they shape cells, define a cell’s metabolism, act as transporters within cells, transmit signals from cell to cell, and bear the crucial information that makes the difference between a heart and a brain. Now researchers have shed light on human protein patterns at an unprecedented scale, succeeding in identifying the components of the human proteome. Using mass spectrometry and cutting-edge database technology, they have identified more than 18,000 proteins, linked to their genetic origins, and mapped according to their functions in different organs and tissues. Providing the results of their big data search in the public database ProteomicsDB, researchers have set the stage for a new era in biomedical research. Proteomics may help blaze the trail for a more personalized medicine. Since proteins are the targets of drugs, understanding how protein profiles mediate drug sensitivity is an important step toward individualizing and improving medical treatment.