Mass spectrometry-based signal networks elucidation

Signalling networks regulate essentially all of the biology of cells and organisms under physiological and pathological states. Analysis of signalling networks by classical biochemical approaches such as antibody-based techniques is limited for large-scale and unbiased studies. Proteomics technique based on mass spectrometry now enables the system-wide characterization of signalling events at the levels of post-translational modifications, protein complex and changes in protein expression. This function can complement the system-side gene expression analysis since the expression of many proteins is regulated by posttranscriptional mechanisms. The application of these technologies provided a quantum leap in our understanding of the molecular properties of signalling networks in recently years.