Why use DNA microarray technology?

  • Why use DNA microarray technology?

    The DNA of each cell in the human body contains the same 25,000 genes, but their activity differs from cell to cell. The activity of the genes determines the behavior of a cell, as the expressed genes are translated via the mRNA into the proteins of the cell. Proteins determine nearly all aspects of life. In liver cells, different genes are more active than compared to other tissues such as kidney cells. Similarly, aggressive breast cancers have different patterns of gene activity than less aggressive breast cancers and it is therefore possible to determine the aggressiveness of a breast cancer by studying the activity of the genes in the cancer.

    In 2002, Dr. Van´t Veer, Dr. Bernards, Dr. van de Vijver and Dr. Friend published in Nature and the New England Journal of Medicine an mRNA based method for genomic profiling using DNA microarrays that predicts the clinical outcome of breast cancer.

    DNA microarray technology allows scientists to study the activity of thousands of genes simultaneously.

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