title: Analyzing the cryptome: uncovering secret sequences.
abstract: The mammalian cryptome consists of bioactive peptides generated by the proteolysis of precursor proteins. It is speculated that the cryptide repertoire increases the complexity of the proteome by an order of magnitude. Cryptides have been found to function in a wide range of processes including neuronal signaling, antigen presentation, and the inflammatory response. Due to their potential as therapeutic agents, there has been an increasing interest in studying cryptides. In this review, we discuss different approaches for discovering these hidden peptides and how proteomic tools can be utilized to aid in their identification and characterization.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee 37232-2363, USA.
authors.forename: Parimal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Samir
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Link
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D010455:Peptides / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000378:metabolism; D020543:Proteome; D040901:Proteomics / Q000379:methods*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D010455:Peptides; D011498:Protein Precursors; D020543:Proteome