Characterizing physical protein targets of chemical contaminants with chemical proteomics: Is it time to fill a crucial environmental toxicology knowledge gap?

Current environmental toxicological studies are challenged by the immense number (>80,000) of chemical contaminants. While several strategies including adverse outcome pathway (AOP), High-Throughput Screening (HTS), and computational toxicology have been proposed to tackle this challenge, we argue here that characterizing the protein targets of chemical contaminants is the major bottleneck. In this commentary article, we reviewed current environmental toxicology research, and pinpointed the urgency to identify physical protein targets of chemical contaminants. We also reviewed several chemical proteomics methodologies developed in our and other groups, and their advantages and disadvantages to identify protein targets. At the end of the article, we also pointed out several potential follow-up research directions should be pursued once protein targets are identified.