secretome

The secretome is the set of proteins expressed by an organism and secreted into the extracellular space. In humans, this subset of the proteome encompasses 13-20% of all proteins, including cytokines, growth factors, extracellular matrix proteins and regulators, and shed receptors. The secretome of a specific tissue can be measured by mass spectrometry and its analysis constitutes a type of proteomics known as secretomics.

==Definition== The term secretome was coined by Tjalsma and colleagues in 2004 to denote all the factors secreted by a cell, along with the secretory pathway constituents. In 2010, this definition of secretome was revised to include only proteins secreted into the extracellular space. Related concepts include the matrisome, which is the subset of the secretome that includes extracellular matrix proteins and their associated proteins; the receptome, which includes all membrane receptors, and the adhesome, which includes all proteins involved in cell adhesion.