science

Secretome

Secretome is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Secretome rather than just read about it. In short: 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.

Key takeaways

Secretome belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Secretome to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Secretome from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

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.

Quantification The secreted proteins in humans account for 13–20% of the entire proteome and include growth factors, chemokines, cytokines, adhesion molecules, proteases and shed receptors. Human protein-coding genes (39%, 19613 genes) are predicted to have either a signal peptide and/or at least one transmembrane region suggesting active transport of the corresponding protein out of the cell (secretion) or location in one of the numerous membrane systems in the cell. Increasing evidence showed that, in addition to the protein cargo, non-protein components, such as lipid, micro-RNAs and messenger-RNA, could also be secreted by cells via both microvesicles (100–>1000 nm diameter) − shedding from the plasma membrane − and exosomes (30–150 nm diameter) − released via endosomal-exocytosis event. Factors present in both these organelles accounts for up to 42% of the secretome and have been incorporated as the collective secretome. There is a vast array of methodologies available to study cell secretomes of plant cells, mammalian cells, stem cells and cancer cells.

See also Secretomics List of omics topics in biology

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Secretome

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Secretome claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Secretome before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Secretome ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Secretome

In research: Secretome appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Secretome in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Secretome is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Proteomics, Secretion, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Secretome outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Secretome in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Secretome means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Secretome out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Secretome in simple terms?

Why does Secretome matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Secretome?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Secretome.