Gene Suppression Technologies in High-Throughput Analysis: Front- and Back-side Applications

Abstract

Our understanding of gene function and gene interactions has changed dramatically with the development of high-throughput systems. It now seems clear that any given gene interacts with a number of different partners, and in a number of different molecular pathways. Traditionally, gene function has been studied using animal knockout systems or naturally occurring mutants. RNA-based gene suppression systems for example, RNA interference or ribozymes, offer a number of advantages over the traditional systems, including ease of use, high specificity, and efficacy in nearly any biological system, and the ability to perform large-scale screens. Since their advent in the mid-1990s, DNA microarrays have been the choice for genome-wide expression analysis. The synergistic effect from the combined use of RNA-based gene suppression and molecular profiling is providing researchers with vast amounts of data. As a result, we are rapidly gaining an understanding of gene interactions and function. This review will focus primarily on gene inactivation systems that have been proven worthy of use in molecular pathway analysis when combined with microarray analysis.