Considerations on the application of microarray analysis in rhinology

Molecular biological tools are finding their way into modern rhinological research. This overview aims to discuss the merits and pitfalls of micro-array analysis as one of these molecular tools. The outcome of a micro-array experiment will describe which genes are active in a given cell type or tissue, allowing us to investigate healthy and diseased conditions on a large scale and in extreme detail. Although this will deepen our understanding of our disease of interest, we should not expect that micro-array analysis will resolve all our questions. In this overview we have indicated points that we feel are critical for any application of micro-array analysis in modern rhinological research. Choices on experimental design and patient inclusion will influence the outcome data of the experiment and the extend of the conclusions that can be drawn from these data. A second important issue is the size of the data set, which can comprise of hundreds of different genes, making it difficult to come to grips with the affected processes in a disease. New visualization and analysis tools for microarray data are discussed in this overview that deal with these complex issues.