A new research program has been started to produce all the human secreted proteins in mammalian cell factories. The program aims to facilitate studies of this important class of proteins involved in many human diseases.

The human secreted proteins, sometimes called the "secretome", consist of approximately 3000 proteins, which are produced inside our cells and then often transported out to the blood. This class of proteins is important in many central processes in humans, including bacterial and viral defense, inflammation, cell signaling and transport of nutrients. As a consequence, they are important as potential targets for pharmaceutical drugs and a large portion of drugs now in the clinic are directed towards secreted proteins.

To explore this important class of proteins in a systematic manner, a collaborative program between the Wallenberg Center for Protein Research and the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability (CFB) at the Technical University of Denmark has been started with the aim to produce all human secreted proteins and to create a resource for further studies. A mammalian cell factory will be used in the effort and the collaborative partners of the program, including AstraZeneca, will further explore the generated proteins.

The mission of the Wallenberg Center for Protein Research is to further develop the resource of knowledge and reagents from the Human Protein Atlas to study the human proteome, in particular of relevance for human health, and to develop platforms for efficient production of biopharmaceuticals.

"We are pleased that the mammalian cell factory developed at KTH can be used to create this valuable resource to allow systematic studies of the human secretome in a manner not possible before", says Professor Mathias Uhlen, Director and responsible for the Wallenberg Center for Protein Research and one of the Scientific Directors at the CFB.

The program is jointly funded from four sources, including the Novo Nordisk Foundation, AstraZeneca, Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation and KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.

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