Tissue microarrays

Abstract

The identification of disease-related genes is a major focus of modern biomedical research. Recent techniques, including array-based platforms for molecular profiling of disease tissues such as DNA arrays for expression profiling or matrix comparative genomic hybridization, allow for the comprehensive screening of the whole genome in a single experiment. Consequently, thousands of candidate genes have already been identified that may be linked to disease development and progression, and the process of lead discovery continues unimpeded. The evaluation of the clinical value of such leads is challenging because thousands of well-characterized tissue specimens must be analyzed. Tissue microarray (TMA) technology enables high-throughput tissue analyses to keep pace with the rapid process of lead discovery. With this technique, up to 1000 minute tissue samples are brought into an array format and analyzed simultaneously. The TMA technology is a fast, cost-effective, and statistically powerful method that will substantially facilitate translational research.