Cell-based microarrays: current progress, future prospects

Cell-based microarrays were first described by Ziauddin and Sabatini in 2001 as a novel method for performing high-throughput screens of gene function. In this study, expression vectors containing the open reading frame of human genes were printed onto glass microscope slides to form a microarray. Transfection reagents were added pre- or post-spotting, and cells grown over the surface of the array. They demonstrated that cells growing in the immediate vicinity of the expression vectors underwent 'reverse transfection', and that subsequent alterations in cell function could then be detected by secondary assays performed on the array. Subsequent publications have adapted the technique to a variety of applications, and have also shown that the approach works when arrays are fabricated using short interfering RNAs and compounds. The potential of this method for performing analyses of gene function and for identifying novel therapeutic agents has been clearly demonstrated, and current efforts are focused on improving and harnessing this technology for high-throughput screening applications.