PNNL

Abstract

The cell membrane serves as the primary interface of the cell with its surrounding environment. Events involving cell-cell communication, binding of chemical messengers, interaction with pathogens, environmental perturbations, transport functions, etc. are often mediated by specific interactions with cell surface-exposed membrane proteins. Cellular differentiation and other highly regulated parallel biochemical processes determine the protein composition of the cell membrane, and the dynamic turnover of membrane proteins provides a unique opportunity for the application of new proteomic approaches. Information obtained from methods investigating cell membrane subproteomes could potentially reveal specific target sites that are useful for diagnostics and ultimately for application of pharmaceutical therapeutics.