The postgenomic age: characterization of proteomes

Global analysis of biological systems is becoming increasingly feasible as technologies that facilitate genome-wide analyses of gene expression are developed. Proteomics is the global analysis of expressed proteins (including posttranslational modifications) and seeks to establish the relationship between genome sequence, expressed proteins, protein-protein interactions, and cell and tissue phenotype. While the relative abundance of transcripts can be quantified using gene expression microarrays, the identification and quantitation of expressed proteins is more challenging. Nevertheless, the potential payoff for global protein analyses is immense because identification of distinctive protein signatures associated with cell function may provide novel therapeutic targets, molecular markers of disease, and increased understanding of determinants of cell phenotype. The challenges and promises of applications of established and emerging proteome strategies to detect and quantify differentially expressed proteins in culture cells are discussed.