Gene expression profile analysis by DNA microarrays: a new approach to assess functional genomics in diseases

A biologically based and potentially powerful way to characterize human diseases has arisen from the new science of genomics. One of the methodologies to provide a systematic way to observe and characterize gene expression programs is the DNA microarrays (also called gene chips). This modern genomic analysis tool shows the promise of providing an unbiased approach to detecting biologically relevant differences within clinically similar diseases. Taking advantage of the initial reports that appeared in the literature on this topic, the likely impact of a molecular taxonomic of interstitial lung disease subgroups based upon gene expression profiling is discussed.