HIGH-THROUGHPUT GENE-EXPRESSION ANALYSIS USING SAGE

The pharmaceutical industry has long been in search of new targets for drug development, A rational approach to the identification of releva nt drug targets involves the characterization of gene products that pa rticipate in disease processes. The wealth of DNA data generated by th e Human Genome Project has identified a substantial fraction of human genes, but has done little to elucidate their role in normal and disea se states. One powerful method to reveal insights into gene function a nd gene pathways is the systematic analysis of gene expression profile s. Serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) offers an efficient and c omprehensive approach to gene expression analysis. It has already been used to provide insights into the pathophysiology of cancer and to op en up possibilities for useful diagnostic and therapeutic intervention s.