Horizon Scanning Technology Emerging Technology Bulletin DNA Microarrays

This work is copyright. You may download, display, print and reproduce this material in unaltered form only (retaining this notice) for your personal, non-commercial use or use within your organisation. Apart from any use as permitted under the DISCLAIMER: This Bulletin is based on information available at the time of research and cannot be expected to cover any developments arising from subsequent improvements to health technologies. This bulletin is based on a limited literature search and is not a definitive statement on the safety, effectiveness or cost-effectiveness of the health technology covered. The Commonwealth does not guarantee the accuracy, currency or completeness of the information in this Bulletin. This Bulletin is not intended to be used as medical advice and it is not intended to be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, nor should it be used for therapeutic purposes or as a substitute for a health professional's advice. The Commonwealth does not accept any liability for any injury, loss or damage incurred by use of or reliance on the information. Advisory Committee on Technology (HealthPACT), a subcommittee of the Medical Services Advisory Committee (MSAC). HealthPACT comprises representatives from health departments in all states and territories, the Australia and New Zealand governments; MSAC and ASERNIP-S. The Australian Health Ministers' Advisory Council (AHMAC) supports HealthPACT through funding. Executive Summary The human genome consists of approximately 2.8 x10 9 nucleotide base pairs which may encode up to 25,000 genes. However not all of these genes are " turned " on, with only a subset being expressed at any one time. Not only can gene expression be turned on and off in response to stimuli, the amount or volume of gene expression can either be up or down regulated. The degree of gene expression may give previous unknown insights into the course of disease, and may guide treatment strategies. DNA microarrays are a relatively new technology, which were first described in 1995. Small fragments of DNA, or oligonucleotides, are attached to a glass substrate by a variety of manufacturing processes. DNA microarrays may hold 100,000s of these elements. Complementary DNA from test and reference samples are labelled with a visualisation tag such as a fluorophore and hybridised to the microarray. The intensity of the signal of the bound DNA is an indication of a given gene's activity. Active genes will give a more intense, brighter signal than less active genes. …