TopFIND, a knowledgebase linking protein termini with function

Authors: Philipp F. Lange and Christopher M. Overall, Lab of Christopher Overall, The Centre for Blood (CBR) Research Group, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology & Oral Biological & Medical Sciences

Published in Nature Methods ; doi:10.1038/nmeth.1669

Abstract: Protein termini embody plentiful information on the proteins functional state and competence. We developed TopFIND, a knowledgebase providing integrated information on translated protein N and C termini, their formation by proteolytic processing and their amino acid modifications. Identification of a loss of proteolytic processing by caspases as possible molecular mechanism underlying a number of somatic cancer causing mutations in p53 showcases its application for hypothesis generation.