Tandem repeat variation in protein-coding regions will alter protein length and may introduce frameshifts. Tandem repeat variants are associated with variation in pathogenicity in bacteria and with human disease. We characterized tandem repeat polymorphism in human proteins, using the UniGene database, and tested whether these were associated with host defense roles.
Bioinformatics Core, Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Institute of Biopharmaceutical Sciences, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, 123 St Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, Ireland. codushlaine@rcsi.ie
