Classifying toxicity and pathology by gene-expression profile--taking a lead from studies in neoplasia

Microarray technology has given rise to the ability to classify and predict toxin-induced pathological change using gene-expression profiles. However, to date gene-expression profiling of pathological subtype has been exploited mainly in the pathological classification of neoplasia. Using an example of resistance to doxorubicin in vitro and gene-expression profiling in neoplasia, this article explores the potential and challenges for gene-expression profiling in the delineation and understanding of toxicity and toxin-induced pathological change.