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Recent advances in gene expression profiling and other “omics” technologies have revolutionized cancer research and hold the potential of also revolutionizing clinical practice. These high-throughout approaches have radically changed our ability to study cells and tissues ...

Identification and characterization of differentially expressed genes may be an important first step toward the understanding of both normal physiology and disease. A multitude of techniques belonging to two main categories have been developed to identify the differences in gene ...

RNA interference (RNAi) is an evolutionarily conserved phenomenon in which gene expression is silenced by double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) in a sequence-specific manner. This technology has the potential to affect all aspects of target discovery and validation. With the completion of the h ...

In this chapter, we provide a protocol for the production of transfected cell arrays in living mammalian cells on noncoated chambered coverglass for the systematic functional analyses of human genes by high-content screening microscopy. This method should facilitate drug target va ...

With the accumulation of vast amounts of data as a result of the sequencing of the human genome, it is necessary to identify human genes that are involved in various cellular, developmental, and disease-related processes and to clarify their functions and potential utility as targets in the trea ...

RNA interference (RNAi) is a sequence-specific gene-silencing mechanism triggered by double-stranded RNA. RNAi was shown to allow transient or stable knockdown of gene expression in a broad range of species and has been used successfully for functional genomic screens in mammalian ce ...

Reverse genetics is one strategy that is currently used to establish a link between a target gene and a disease phenotype. In this process, the function of a gene is inhibited and the consequence of its loss on a desired biological function, such as tumor growth and metastasis, is monitored. RNA interfe ...

In recent years expanding knowledge about basic biology and a detailed understanding of the molecular pathways involved in tumor cell growth and progression have allowed the identification of numerous genes as potential therapeutic targets. Studies in which the expression of these ...

Collagen-induced arthritis is the most widely used animal model for the evaluation of novel therapeutic strategies for rheumatoid arthritis. The disease is induced by immunization of genetically susceptible strains of mice or rats with type II collagen in adjuvant. Susceptibility ...

Systemic autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis, continue to cause significant morbidity in affected persons. In the past few years, significant progress was made in understanding their pathogenesis and the underlying molecular me ...

With potentially up to 1000 microRNAs (miRNAs) present in the human genome, altogether regulating the expression of thousands of genes, one can anticipate that miRNAs will play a significant role in health and disease. Deregulated protein expression induced by a dysfunctional miRNA-b ...

Target validation in health and disease integrates the modulation of a certain molecular target with an expected biological/biochemical/physiological or pathophysiological response or effect. The current state-of-the-art in target validation requires the interface of m ...

In normal cells, signaling pathways are tightly regulated. However, when they are aberrantly activated, certain pathways are capable of causing diseases. In many tumors, the aberrantly activated signaling proteins include members of the epidermal growth factor receptor family, t ...

Although several drug targets are identified, current strategies in therapy do not take into account that patients vary in their response to drugs, both with respect to efficacy and toxic side effects. Whereas both clinical and histopathologic predictors of prognosis are established in ...

Epigenetics, a combination of DNA modifications, chromatin organization, and variations in its associated proteins, configure a new entity that regulates gene expression throughout methylation, acetylation, and chromatin remodeling. In addition to silencing as a result of mu ...

The question as to what exactly a stem cell is has remained contentious even after nearly three decades of debate. The prevailing view is that stem cells are cells with the capacity for unlimited or prolonged self-renewal that can produce at least one type of highly differentiated descendant. Usu ...

Historically, the nociceptive/analgesic effect of naturally occurring opiates such as morphine has long been recognized by humans. Advances in research in the last several decades have revealed the existence of the so-called endogenous opioid peptides, can be divided into three cla ...

With the continuing and increasing popularity of the amphetamine analog 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, Ecstasy) as a drug of abuse, concern also has increased regarding the long-term psychological and neurochemical effects of this drug. The acute psychological ef ...

Chronic drug abuse is a complex behavioral and social phenomenon, that stems from a diverse set of underlying neural mechanisms. However, two defining features of drug addiction make it especially difficult to treat. First, addiction is compulsive—individuals often continue or resume ...

It began with a single case of drug abuse in Maryland (1), followed by four reported cases in California (2) in which young heroin addicts self-injected homemade “synthetic heroin” analogs contaminated with an impure chemical byproduct, 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydroperidi ...