ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION The completion of human genome project has revealed that there are many fewer protein-coding genes in the human genome than there are proteins in the human proteome (*30,000 genes vs.*400,000 proteins) (1,2). Thus, in the postgenomic era, the focus of life science research has shifted from gene expression analysis to the functional and structural analysis of proteins. Proteomics comprises the comprehensive analysis of all cellular proteins with regard to both qualitative and quantitative aspects of their temporal and spatial distribution. Structural genomics provides information about the relationship between protein function and three-dimensional (3D) structure. Thus, many scientists expect that these approaches will offer tremendous potential in discovering novel drug targets and unique lead compounds for drug development.
