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Genomics and the discovery of new drug targets
1Division of Molecular Pharmacology, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, The Huntsman Cancer Institute, 546 Chipeta Way, Suite 1100, Salt Lake City, Utah 84108, USA. david.jones@hci.utah.edu
Abstract:
Molecular medicine and genomics technologies are inseparable for defining new molecular targets. cDNA databases and elementary informatic tools provide instantaneous glimpses of gene families or tissue-restricted expression patterns as a means of new target identification. In addition, cDNA microarrays and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis unmask the expression of genes with unassigned or unexpected functions. Depletion of mRNA with ribozymes or neutralization of proteins with intracellular antibodies enable investigators to reject or embrace new molecular hypotheses about the determinants of disease, pharmacology or toxicology.