ABSTRACT
Development of gene microarrays brought about the functional genomics phase in which relative expression from thousands of genes can be measured at once, which can be employed to correlate gene-expression patterns with disease classification and predict response to therapy. Tissue-based diagnosis of human disease has largely occurred under the rubric of the medical specialty of anatomic pathology. Gene microarray studies have been able uncover several distinct gene-expression patterns that correlate with distinct patient outcome patterns not readily apparent by pathologic analysis. The integrity of cellular proteins is preserved during microdissection, which allows for subsequent quantitative analysis in gene or protein microarrays or mass spectrometry analysis. There are two major classes of protein microarrays: forward-phase arrays and reverse-phase arrays. Proteins are assembled into complex networks through a variety of protein–protein interactions in both extracellular and intracellular microenvironments. A therapeutic regime in the future will likely be one in which a cocktail of selected inhibitors, chosen based on the patient-specific molecular network.
