Secretome: clues into pathogen infection and clinical applications
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* Corresponding author: Shoba Ranganathan shoba.ranganathan@mq.edu.au
1 Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences and ARC Centre of Excellence in Bioinformatics, Macquarie University, Sydney NSW 2109, Australia
2 Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 8 Medical Drive, 117597 Singapore
Genome Medicine 2009, 1:113 doi:10.1186/gm113
Published: 30 November 2009Abstract
The secretome encompasses the complete set of gene products secreted by a cell. Recent studies on secretome analysis reveal that secretory proteins play an important role in pathogen infection and host-pathogen interactions. Excretory/secretory proteins of pathogens change the host cell environment by suppressing the immune system, to aid the proliferation of infection. Identifying secretory proteins involved in pathogen infection will lead to the discovery of potential drug targets and biomarkers for diagnostic applications.