The study, published today in the journal, Nature, expands on the Human Genome Project by focusing on the role that proteins – the workhorses of the cell – may play in ultimately identifying targets for drug therapies. This is the first large-scale study focusing on proteins and their activity in breast cancer cells.
The Human Genome Project began to unravel the genetic mysteries of cancer and identify targets for drug therapies, but identifying genetic mutations in cancers is only a starting point, says Dr. Paulovich, who co-led the study.
“Over the past decade, a lot of effort and resources have gone into characterizing human cancers at the level of genomics – meaning DNA and RNA characterization. But very little effort has gone into characterizing the proteome [all the proteins found in a cell],” Paulovich said. “Our genes are the blueprints for making our proteins, but it’s the proteins that ultimately carry out the functions of our cells, and it’s the proteins that are the targets of our drugs.”
“We hope that the proteomics can complement genomics and improve our ability to select the right drugs for the right patients and understand how cancers become resistant to therapies,” she added.
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