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Abstract #10937 Published in IGR 6-2
Seeing the Unseen: Microarray-Based Gene Expression Profiling in Vision
Zareparsi S; Hero A; Zack DJ; Williams RW; Swaroop AInvestigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 2004; 45: 2457-2462
SUMMARY: Microarray technology has been a rapidly evolving field and will continue to advance at a swift pace. As the use of arrays in ophthalmic research becomes more pervasive, it is essential that this technology be used appropriately. With this much experimental power, there is substantial risk of generating a large body of intriguing experimental artifacts. There is an equally serious possibility of missing significant results by applying procrustean or superficial statistical analyses. Figure 2 provides a flow chart that should be helpful for designing appropriate microarray experiments. It is imperative to consider study designs and the objectives carefully before embarking on microarray experiments. Appropriate normalization and statistical treatment of microarray data will extract useful new information, thereby allowing efficient generation and validation of hypotheses. LOOKING TO THE FUTURE: Genome-wide expression profiling with microarrays is expected to yield tremendous amounts of data. Efficient mining of these data is currently a challenge for vision scientists and computational biologists. It is critical to develop acceptable standards for microarray experimentation and guidelines for data presentation, storage, and sharing. We are approaching a new frontier of vast information. Translation of this technology to uncover fundamental interacting gene networks and to perform targeted drug design for treatment of blinding diseases will require a conscious and concerted effort.
Anand Swaroop, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, W. K. Kellogg Eye Center, 1000 Wall Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48105; swaroop@umich.edu.
Classification:
3.4 Molecular genetics (Part of: 3 Laboratory methods)
