On May 6, 2026, a group of international researchers announced they had discovered 1,700 new proteins. The research data they collected has been made accessible to other researchers. These are small proteins that may play an important role in cells, for example in the development of diseases such as (childhood) cancer. The researchers hope to quickly learn more about the role of these newly discovered micro‑proteins in the so‑called dark proteome, which they call peptideins. These proteins may offer new leads for future treatments. 

‘It was very special when we realized: this really is something new!’ says Dr. Sebastiaan van Heesch, research group leader at the Princess Máxima Center and Oncode Institute. He led the study together with two other scientists from the United States. 

Previous research into the precise role of the microprotein involved in medulloblastoma took nearly four years. This work was published by the Van Heesch group in collaboration with the research group of Dr. John Prensner at the University of Michigan, which is also part of the same international consortium. 

Many peptideins still remain to be studied. The researchers are therefore pleased that the research data on the new proteins is now accessible to other scientists via databases. This allows other researchers to include them in their own studies and to indicate, for example, when they observe that one of the proteins is involved in a specific cellular process, carries DNA changes linked to disease, or frequently occurs in certain types of cancer. 

Researchers can also use the database to make their research results more complete. Thousands of additional peptideins that previously remained invisible in results, but are present in the cell, can now be added. Van Heesch says: This is how we discover this new world of previously unknown proteins together.’  The results were published in the leading scientific journal Nature. Earlier, Nature and the likewise prestigious journal Science published news articles about this research.