Gene-Expression Analysis of Microdissected Renal Biopsies

The entire human genetic code has been deciphered, and the DNA sequence information of most laboratory animals will be in the public domain in the near future. This will enable the analysis of gene expression in clinical specimen and disease models, which will help to study disease mechanisms. Renal biopsy diagnostics in particular could be complemented by the identification of typical mRNA fingerprints in diseased organs and their correlation with the diagnosis, prognosis, and responsiveness to the different available treatments (1 ). In this chapter, we will focus on the isolation of RNA/cDNA from microdissected renal tissue as a starting point for mRNA analysis and the quantification by real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Other techniques to evaluate the expression profiles of a tissue, such as serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) and cDNA array, are discussed in Chapters 17 and 18 of this manual.