Proteomics in radiation research: present status and future perspectives.

Rapidly developing postgenome research has made proteins an attractive target for biological analysis. The well-established term of proteome is defined as the complete set of proteins expressed in a given cell, tissue or organism. Unlike the genome, a proteome is rapidly changing as it tends to adapt to microenvironmental signals. The systematic analysis of the proteome at a given time and state is referred to as proteomics. This technique provides information on the molecular and cellular mechanisms that regulate physiology and pathophysiology of the cell. Applications of proteome profiling in radiation research are increasing. However, the large-scale proteomics data sets generated need to be integrated into other fields of radiation biology to facilitate the interpretation of radiation-induced cellular and tissue effects. The aim of this review is to introduce the most recent developments in the field of radiation proteomics.