The Small Open Reading Frame-Encoded Peptides: Advances in Methodologies and Functional Studies

Lei Chen; Ying Yang; Yuanliang Zhang; Kecheng Li; Hongmin Cai; Hongwei Wang; Qian Zhao

doi:10.1002/cbic.202100534

The Small Open Reading Frame-Encoded Peptides: Advances in Methodologies and Functional Studies

Chembiochem. 2022 Apr 20;23(8):e202100534. doi: 10.1002/cbic.202100534. Epub 2021 Dec 8.

Authors

Lei Chen^{1

2}, Ying Yang¹, Yuanliang Zhang¹, Kecheng Li¹, Hongmin Cai³, Hongwei Wang⁴, Qian Zhao¹

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery, Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong SAR, 999077, P. R. China.
² Laboratory for Synthetic Chemistry and Chemical Biology Limited, Hong Kong Science and Technology Park, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, 999077, P. R. China.
³ School of Computer Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510623, P. R. China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Guangzhou, 510623, P. R. China.

PMID: 34862721
DOI: 10.1002/cbic.202100534

Abstract

Small open reading frames (sORFs) are an important class of genes with less than 100 codons. They were historically annotated as noncoding or even junk sequences. In recent years, accumulating evidence suggests that sORFs could encode a considerable number of polypeptides, many of which play important roles in both physiology and disease pathology. However, it has been technically challenging to directly detect sORF-encoded peptides (SEPs). Here, we discuss the latest advances in methodologies for identifying SEPs with mass spectrometry, as well as the progress on functional studies of SEPs.

Keywords: mass spectrometry; proteins; proteomics; sORF-encoded peptides; small open reading frames.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Codon
Mass Spectrometry
Open Reading Frames
Peptides* / chemistry

Substances

Codon
Peptides