biology

Human Proteome Project

Human Proteome Project is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Human Proteome Project rather than just read about it. In short: The Human Proteome Project (HPP) is a collaborative effort coordinated by the Human Proteome Organization. Its stated goal is to experimentally observe all of the proteins produced by the sequences translated from the human genome.

Key takeaways

Human Proteome Project belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Human Proteome Project to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Human Proteome Project from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Human Proteome Project (HPP) is a collaborative effort coordinated by the Human Proteome Organization. Its stated goal is to experimentally observe all of the proteins produced by the sequences translated from the human genome.

History The Human Proteome Organization has served as a coordinating body for many long-running proteomics research projects associated with specific human tissues of clinical interest, such as blood plasma, liver, brain and urine. It has also been responsible for projects associated with specific technology and standards necessary for the large scale study of proteins. The structure and goals of a larger project that would parallel the Human Genome Project has been debated in the scientific literature. The results of this debate and a series of meetings at the World Congresses of the Human Proteome Organization in 2009, 2010 and 2011 has been the decision to define the Human Proteome Project as being composed of two sub-projects, C-HPP and B/D-HPP. The C-HPP will be organized into 25 groups, one per human chromosome. The B/D-HPP will be organized into groups by the biological and disease relevance of proteins.

Projects and groups The current set of working groups are listed below, in order of the chromosome to be studied.

Computational resources Data reduction, analysis and validation of MS/MS based proteomics results is being provided by Eric Deutsch at the Institute for Systems Biology, Seattle, USA (PeptideAtlas). Data handling associated with antibody methods is being coordinated by Kalle von Feilitzen, Stockholm, Sweden (Human Protein Atlas). Overall integration and reporting informatics are the responsibility of Lydie Lane at SIB, Geneva, Switzerland (NeXtProt). All data generated as part of HPP contributions are deposited to one of the ProteomeXchange repositories.

Current status Updates on the Human Proteome Project are regularly published, e.g. in the Journal of Proteome Research (2014). Metrics for the level of confidence associated with protein observations have been published as has been a "MissingProteinPedia". A review of nine major annotation portals gave a spread of human protein counts from 18,891 to 21,819 (as of 2017). The 2021 Metrics of the HPP show that protein expression has now been credibly detected 92.8% of the predicted proteins coded in the human genome.

See also BioPlex Human Protein Atlas - Protein databases NeXtProt PeptideAtlas Human Proteome Folding Project

References

External links HPP project page (www.hupo.org) HPP web site (www.thehpp.org) Chromosome-centric HPP web site (www.c-hpp.org) BD HPP web site (www.hupo.org/B/D-HPP)

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Human Proteome Project

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Human Proteome Project claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Human Proteome Project before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Human Proteome Project ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Human Proteome Project

In research: Human Proteome Project appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Human Proteome Project in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Human Proteome Project is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Human genome projects, Protein databases, Proteomics, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Human Proteome Project outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Human Proteome Project” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Human Proteome Project in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Human Proteome Project means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Human Proteome Project out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Human Proteome Project in simple terms?

Why does Human Proteome Project matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Human Proteome Project?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Human Proteome Project.