Comprehensive annotation and analysis of human microproteins by human microprotein atlas platform
Small open reading frames (sORFs) and their encoded microproteins are increasingly recognized as a widespread but poorly characterized components of the human proteome. Here we show a Human Microprotein Atlas (HMPA) platform that integrates 617,462 human microproteins with sequence features, predicted three-dimensional structures, variant effect predictions, subcellular localization, essentiality, and bioactivity annotations. Structural analyses revealed substantial conformational diversity, and structure-based functional inference suggested roles in cellular regulation, signaling, and cell-cell communication. Deep learning-based analyses further prioritized microproteins with tissue-specific essentiality and enabled the prediction of diverse bioactivities across multiple functional categories. To support the exploration of these data, we also provide an interactive web server with sequence-, structure-, and function-oriented search and analysis utilities. This resource provides a systematic framework for studying microprotein biology and supports the discovery of functional and therapeutically relevant microproteins.
Authors
- Qinghua Cui (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3018-5221)
- Chunmei Cui (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6223-5225)
- Boming Kang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-8704-3949)
- Rui Fan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6757-9422)
- Yuan Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5685-066X)
- Xiangwen Ji (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9427-1754)
Institutions
- Peking University (CN)
- Wuhan Sports University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Communications Chemistry
- Published
- 2026-05-12
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s42004-026-02054-y
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Proteomics Techniques and Applications
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China