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Hassel KR, Brito-Estrada O, Makarewich CA. Microproteins: Overlooked regulators of physiology and disease. iScience 2023; 26:106781. [PMID: 37213226 PMCID: PMC10199267 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106781] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Ongoing efforts to generate a complete and accurate annotation of the genome have revealed a significant blind spot for small proteins (<100 amino acids) originating from short open reading frames (sORFs). The recent discovery of numerous sORF-encoded proteins, termed microproteins, that play diverse roles in critical cellular processes has ignited the field of microprotein biology. Large-scale efforts are currently underway to identify sORF-encoded microproteins in diverse cell-types and tissues and specialized methods and tools have been developed to aid in their discovery, validation, and functional characterization. Microproteins that have been identified thus far play important roles in fundamental processes including ion transport, oxidative phosphorylation, and stress signaling. In this review, we discuss the optimized tools available for microprotein discovery and validation, summarize the biological functions of numerous microproteins, outline the promise for developing microproteins as therapeutic targets, and look forward to the future of the field of microprotein biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keira R. Hassel
- The Heart Institute, Division of Molecular Cardiovascular Biology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA
- University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA
| | - Omar Brito-Estrada
- The Heart Institute, Division of Molecular Cardiovascular Biology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA
- University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA
| | - Catherine A. Makarewich
- The Heart Institute, Division of Molecular Cardiovascular Biology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA
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Cassidy L, Kaulich PT, Tholey A. Proteoforms expand the world of microproteins and short open reading frame-encoded peptides. iScience 2023; 26:106069. [PMID: 36818287 PMCID: PMC9929600 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Microproteins and short open reading frame-encoded peptides (SEPs) can, like all proteins, carry numerous posttranslational modifications. Together with posttranscriptional processes, this leads to a high number of possible distinct protein molecules, the proteoforms, out of a limited number of genes. The identification, quantification, and molecular characterization of proteoforms possess special challenges to established, mainly bottom-up proteomics (BUP) based analytical approaches. While BUP methods are powerful, proteins have to be inferred rather than directly identified, which hampers the detection of proteoforms. An alternative approach is top-down proteomics (TDP) which allows to identify intact proteoforms. This perspective article provides a brief overview of modified microproteins and SEPs, introduces the proteoform terminology, and compares present BUP and TDP workflows highlighting their major advantages and caveats. Necessary future developments in TDP to fully accentuate its potential for proteoform-centric analytics of microproteins and SEPs will be discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liam Cassidy
- Systematic Proteome Research & Bioanalytics, Institute for Experimental Medicine, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, 24105 Kiel, Germany
| | - Philipp T. Kaulich
- Systematic Proteome Research & Bioanalytics, Institute for Experimental Medicine, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, 24105 Kiel, Germany
| | - Andreas Tholey
- Systematic Proteome Research & Bioanalytics, Institute for Experimental Medicine, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, 24105 Kiel, Germany,Corresponding author
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Jürgens L, Wethmar K. The Emerging Role of uORF-Encoded uPeptides and HLA uLigands in Cellular and Tumor Biology. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14246031. [PMID: 36551517 PMCID: PMC9776223 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14246031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2022] [Revised: 11/29/2022] [Accepted: 11/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent technological advances have facilitated the detection of numerous non-canonical human peptides derived from regulatory regions of mRNAs, long non-coding RNAs, and other cryptic transcripts. In this review, we first give an overview of the classification of these novel peptides and summarize recent improvements in their annotation and detection by ribosome profiling, mass spectrometry, and individual experimental analysis. A large fraction of the novel peptides originates from translation at upstream open reading frames (uORFs) that are located within the transcript leader sequence of regular mRNA. In humans, uORF-encoded peptides (uPeptides) have been detected in both healthy and malignantly transformed cells and emerge as important regulators in cellular and immunological pathways. In the second part of the review, we focus on various functional implications of uPeptides. As uPeptides frequently act at the transition of translational regulation and individual peptide function, we describe the mechanistic modes of translational regulation through ribosome stalling, the involvement in cellular programs through protein interaction and complex formation, and their role within the human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-associated immunopeptidome as HLA uLigands. We delineate how malignant transformation may lead to the formation of novel uORFs, uPeptides, or HLA uLigands and explain their potential implication in tumor biology. Ultimately, we speculate on a potential use of uPeptides as peptide drugs and discuss how uPeptides and HLA uLigands may facilitate translational inhibition of oncogenic protein messages and immunotherapeutic approaches in cancer therapy.
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Liu Y, Zeng S, Wu M. Novel insights into noncanonical open reading frames in cancer. Biochim Biophys Acta Rev Cancer 2022; 1877:188755. [PMID: 35777601 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbcan.2022.188755] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2022] [Revised: 06/11/2022] [Accepted: 06/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
With technological advances, previously neglected noncanonical open reading frames (nORFs) are drawing ever-increasing attention. However, the translation potential of numerous putative nORFs remains elusive, and the functions of noncanonical peptides have not been systemically summarized. Moreover, the relationship between noncanonical peptides and their counterpart protein or RNA products remains elusive and the clinical implementation of noncanonical peptides has not been explored. In this review, we highlight how recent technological advances such as ribosome profiling, bioinformatics approaches and CRISPR/Cas9 facilitate the research of noncanonical peptides. We delineate the features of each nORF category and the evolutionary process underneath the nORFs. Most importantly, we summarize the diversified functions of noncanonical peptides in cancer based on their subcellular location, which reflect their extensive participation in key pathways and essential cellular activities in cancer cells. Meanwhile, the equilibrium between noncanonical peptides and their corresponding transcripts or counterpart products may be dysregulated under pathological states, which is essential for their roles in cancer. Lastly, we explore their underestimated potential in clinical application as diagnostic biomarkers and treatment targets against cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yihan Liu
- Hunan Cancer Hospital and the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha 410013, Hunan, China; The Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis of the Chinese Ministry of Health, The Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion of the Chinese Ministry of Education, Cancer Research Institute, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410008, China; Department of Oncology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410008, China; Key Laboratory for Molecular Radiation Oncology of Hunan Province, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410008, China; National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410008, China
| | - Shan Zeng
- Department of Oncology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410008, China; Key Laboratory for Molecular Radiation Oncology of Hunan Province, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410008, China; National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410008, China.
| | - Minghua Wu
- Hunan Cancer Hospital and the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha 410013, Hunan, China; The Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis of the Chinese Ministry of Health, The Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion of the Chinese Ministry of Education, Cancer Research Institute, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410008, China.
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Zhang Z, Li Y, Yuan W, Wang Z, Wan C. Proteomic-driven identification of short open reading frame-encoded peptides. Proteomics 2022; 22:e2100312. [PMID: 35384297 DOI: 10.1002/pmic.202100312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2022] [Revised: 03/29/2022] [Accepted: 03/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Accumulating evidence has shown that a large number of short open reading frames (sORFs) also have the ability to encode proteins. The discovery of sORFs opens up a new research area, leading to the identification and functional study of sORF encoded peptides (SEPs) at the omics level. Besides bioinformatics prediction and ribosomal profiling, mass spectrometry (MS) has become a significant tool as it directly detects the sequence of SEPs. Though MS-based proteomics methods have proved to be effective for qualitative and quantitative analysis of SEPs, the detection of SEPs is still a great challenge due to their low abundance and short sequence. To illustrate the progress in method development, we described and discussed the main steps of large-scale proteomics identification of SEPs, including SEP extraction and enrichment, MS detection, data processing and quality control, quantification, and function prediction and validation methods. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zheng Zhang
- School of Life Sciences and Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, Hubei, 430079, People's Republic of China
| | - Yujie Li
- School of Life Sciences and Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, Hubei, 430079, People's Republic of China
| | - Wenqian Yuan
- School of Life Sciences and Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, Hubei, 430079, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhiwei Wang
- School of Life Sciences and Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, Hubei, 430079, People's Republic of China
| | - Cuihong Wan
- School of Life Sciences and Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, Hubei, 430079, People's Republic of China
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