Secreted and membrane-bound proteins are important for physiological processes and are potential drug targets as they are easily accessible in the extracellular space and provide a gateway to the intracellular environment. About 3,000 protein-coding genes are predicted members of the secretome; examples of secreted proteins are cytokines, coagulation factors, hormones, and growth factors. Important members of the membrane proteome, consisting of about 5,500 genes encoding predicted membrane-bound proteins, are ion channels of molecular transporters, enzymes, receptors, and anchors for other proteins.

A majority of the human genes encode several splice variants...Read more