ABSTRACT
Introduction............................................................................................................. 69 Toxicogenomics Experimental Design................................................................... 72 Case Study: PPAR
α
Agonist Example .................................................................. 74 Summary and Conclusions..................................................................................... 90 References............................................................................................................... 90
Biological responses to xenobiotics are frequently manifest at the transcriptional level. Hence, differential gene expression studies are highly applicable to both pure and applied toxicology. The sequencing of the human genome and in particular the sequencing of genomes of laboratory species along with the development of DNA microarrays has allowed for more comprehensive and rapid investigations of gene expression relevant to toxicology. Increasing knowledge of gene expression responses, gained using DNA microarray technology, also brings about the ability to screen chemicals and drugs for toxic potential, because it has been recognized that such responses can be predictive of toxicity by revealing early biological responses to xenobiotics [1,2]. Gene expression also indicates at the molecular-level changes to the biology of a cell or organ that may lead to or constitute the likely basis of a toxicity [3,4].
