Smelling the Dark Proteome: Functional Characterization of PITH Domain-Containing Protein 1 (C1orf128) in Olfactory Metabolism.

The Human Proteome Project (HPP) consortium aims to functionally characterize the dark proteome. On the basis of the relevance of olfaction in early neurodegeneration, we have analyzed the dark proteome using data mining in public resources and omics data sets derived from the human olfactory system. Multiple dark proteins localize at synaptic terminals and may be involved in amyloidopathies such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). We have characterized the dark PITH domain-containing protein 1 (PITHD1) in olfactory metabolism using bioinformatics, proteomics, in vitro and in vivo studies, and neuropathology. PITHD1