Progress in the use of microarray technology to study the neurobiology of disease.
The diverse functions of the brain are mediated by neurons and glia whose phenotype is defined by a dynamically maintained set of gene transcripts, or 'transcriptome'. Large-scale analysis of gene expression in postmortem brain using microarray technology has the potential to elucidate molecular changes that occur in disease states. There are unique challenges associated with studies of postmortem brain, including limited sample sizes and variable clinical phenotypes that are typical of complex disorders. Nevertheless, recent microarray-based studies have implicated both individual dysregulated genes and abnormal patterns of gene expression in brain disorders.
Mirnics
Károly
K
Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine, E1453 Biomedical Science, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, USA. karoly+@pitt.edu
Pevsner
Jonathan
J
D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D016208:Databases, Factual; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D009422:Nervous System Diseases; D009446:Neurobiology / Q000379:methods*; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D011180:Postmortem Changes; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014158:Transcription, Genetic / Q000502:physiology