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Finding the needle in the haystack: why high-throughput screening is good for your health.

High-throughput screening is an essential component of the toolbox of modern technologies that improve speed and efficiency in contemporary cancer drug development. This is particularly important as we seek to exploit, for maximum therapeutic benefit, the large number of new molecular targets emerging from the Human Genome Project and cancer genomics. Screening of diverse collections of low molecular weight compounds plays a key role in providing chemical starting points for iterative optimisation by medicinal chemistry. Examples of successful drug discovery programmes based on high-throughput screening are described, and these offer potential in the treatment of breast cancer and other malignancies.

Antineoplastic Agents↗

Genetic susceptibility to infectious diseases: big is beautiful, but will bigger be even better?

Genetic epidemiology, including twin studies, provides robust evidence that genetic variation in human populations contributes to susceptibility to infectious disease. One of the major limitations of studies that attempt to identify the genes and mechanisms that underlie this susceptibility has been lack of power caused by small sample size. With the development of novel technologies, burgeoning information on the human genome, the HapMap project, and human genetic diversity, we are at the beginning of a new era in the study of the genetics of complex diseases. This review looks afresh at the epidemiological evidence that supports a role for genetics in susceptibility to infectious disease, examines the somewhat limited achievements to date, and discusses current advances in methodology and technology that will potentially lead to translational data in the future.

Communicable Diseases↗

The post-Human Genome Project mindset: race, reliability, and health care.

The following essay reports on the first session of a 2-day workshop on genetic diversity and science communication, organized by the Institute of Genetics. I argue that the four talks in this session reflected two different facets of a 'post-Human Genome Project (HGP)' view of human genetics. The first is characterized by an increasing interest in genetic differences. Two speakers - Troy Duster and Jasber Singh - expressed skepticism about one aspect of this trend: an emphasis on race in medicine and genetics. The other two speakers - Kenneth Weiss and Gustavo Turecki - spoke to a second facet of the post-HGP view: a recognition of the difficulty in translating genetic discovery into medical or public health applications. Though both sets of talks were highly critical of current trends in genetic research, they pulled in opposite directions: one warned about the role of genetics in stabilizing racial categories, while the other lamented the failure of any genetic claims or categories to stabilize at all. I argue that the use of racial categories in medicine seems likely to encounter scientific, medical, and social challenges.

Communication↗

Patterns of human genetic diversity: implications for human evolutionary history and disease.

Since the completion of the human genome sequencing project, the discovery and characterization of human genetic variation is a principal focus for future research. Comparative studies across ethnically diverse human populations and across human and nonhuman primate species is important for reconstructing human evolutionary history and for understanding the genetic basis of human disease. In this review, we summarize data on patterns of human genetic diversity and the evolutionary forces (mutation, genetic drift, migration, and selection) that have shaped these patterns of variation across both human populations and the genome. African population samples typically have higher levels of genetic diversity, a complex population substructure, and low levels of linkage disequilibrium (LD) relative to non-African populations. We discuss these differences and their implications for mapping disease genes and for understanding how population and genomic diversity have been important in the evolution, differentiation, and adaptation of humans.

Biological Evolution↗

Medical ethics in the European Community.

Increasing European co-operation must take place in many areas, including medical ethics. Against the background of common cultural norms and pluralistic variation within political traditions, religion and lifestyles, Europe will have to converge towards unity within the field of medical ethics. This article examines how such convergence might develop with respect to four major areas: European research ethics committees, democratic health systems, the human genome project and rules for stopping futile treatments.

Bioethical Issues↗

Central mutation databases--a review.

The Internet has been a key component in the coordination of the diverse group of scientists involved in the Human Genome Project. Nowhere has this contribution been more critical than in the maintenance and exchange of information about genetic variation and mutation. Whereas the majority of DNA sequence is generated and stored by a relatively few sites, a far greater number of researchers investigate the variations in that sequence from sites scattered worldwide. It falls to central databases to utilize the Internet to assemble data from these sites and make them available to the greater human genomic community.

Databases, Factual↗

Proceedings of the schistosome genome project.

"The host-parasite relationship" is a vast and diverse research field which, despite huge human and financial input over many years, remains largely shrouded in mystery. Clearly, the adaptation of parasites to their different host species, and to the different environmental stresses that they represent, depends on interactions with, and responses to, various molecules of host and/or parasite origin. The schistosome genome project is a primary strategy to reach the goal; this systematic research project has successfully developed novel technologies for qualitative and quantitative characterization of schistosome genes and genome organization by extensive international collaboration between top quality laboratories. Schistosomes are a family of parasitic blood flukes (Phylum Platyhelminthes), which have seven pairs of autosomal chromosomes and one pair of sex chromosomes (ZZ for a male worm and ZW for a female), of a haploid genome size of 2.7 x 10(8) base pairs (Simpson et al. 1982). Schistosomes are ideal model organisms for the development of genome mapping strategies since they have a small genome size comparable to that of well-characterized model organisms such as Caenorhabditis elegans (100 Mb) and Drosophila (165 Mb), and contain functional genes with a high level of homology to the host mammalian genes. Here we summarize the current progress in the schistosome genome project, the information of 3,047 transcribed genes (Expressed Sequence Tags; EST), complete sets of cDNA and genomic DNA libraries (including YAC and cosmid libraries) with a mapping technique to the well defined schistosome chromosomes. The schistosome genome project will further identify and characterize the key molecules that are responsible for host-parasite adaptation, i.e., successful growth, development, maturation and reproduction of the parasite within its host in the near future.

Animals↗

[The human genome project as a scientific background of preventive medicine].

Conspicuous achievements in the Human Genome Project have already found spectacular implementation in both basic research and practice. The Human Genome Diversity, Functional Genomics, and numerous Social Programmes are under way and they are rapidly expanding the scientific area induced by the Human Genome Project. Its practical implication is mainly confined to molecular medicine and to its quickly growing area Predictive (Preventive) Medicine. The paper briefly considers the existing concepts of molecular genetic tests of "predisposition" genes, including such groups as "environmental" genes and "trigger"-genes to detect subjects highly susceptible to different common multifactorial diseases and the expediency for testing the genes whose mutations cause diseases showing their manifestations at the late stage. Evidence is provided for that there is a progressive increase in population, family, and personal predisposition gene DNA databanks. There is need for close interaction between researchers and all strata of society, including the clergy, governments, political parties, etc. in order to optimize perception of scientific achievements of modern genetics and their effective used for the welfare of mankind.

DNA↗

From genotype to phenotype: genetics and medical practice in the new millennium.

The completion of the human genome project will provide a vast amount of information about human genetic diversity. One of the major challenges for the medical sciences will be to relate genotype to phenotype. Over recent years considerable progress has been made in relating the molecular pathology of monogenic diseases to the associated clinical phenotypes. Studies of the inherited disorders of haemoglobin, notably the thalassaemias, have shown how even in these, the simplest of monogenic diseases, there is remarkable complexity with respect to their phenotypic expression. Although studies of other monogenic diseases are less far advanced, it is clear that the same level of complexity will exist. This information provides some indication of the difficulties that will be met when trying to define the genes that are involved in common multigenic disorders and, in particular, in trying to relate disease phenotypes to the complex interactions between many genes and multiple environmental factors.

Africa↗

Global heterochromatic colocalization of transposable elements with minisatellites in the compact genome of the pufferfish Tetraodon nigroviridis.

Because of its unusual high degree of compaction and paucity of repetitive sequences, the genome of the smooth pufferfish Tetraodon nigroviridis is the subject of a well-advanced sequencing project. An astonishing diversity of transposable elements not found in the human and the mouse has been observed in the genome of T. nigroviridis. Due to the difficulty of assembling repeat-rich regions, the whole genome shotgun sequencing approach will probably fail to reveal the general organisation of this compact vertebrate genome. Therefore, in order to gain new insights into the global distribution pattern of repeated DNA in the genome of T. nigroviridis, we have reconstructed partial/complete repetitive sequences from data generated by the genome project and performed double-colour fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis for representatives of three major categories of repeated sequences including two minisatellites (ms100 and ms104), two DNA transposons (Tol2 and Buffy1) and two non-long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposons (Rex3 and Babar). We show that DNA transposons and retroelements very frequently colocalize with minisatellites and mostly accumulate within heterochromatic regions. These results, which have not been reported so far for the fugu Takifugu rubripes, show that repeated elements are generally excluded from gene-rich regions in T. nigroviridis and underline the extreme degree of compartmentalization of this compact genome. The genome organization of the pufferfish is clearly different from that observed in humans, where repeated sequences make up an important fraction of euchromatic DNA, and is more similar to that observed in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

BeadArray technology: enabling an accurate, cost-effective approach to high-throughput genotyping.

The Human Genome Project has opened the door to personalized medicine, provided that human genetic diversity can be analyzed in a high-throughput and cost-effective way Illumina has developed a genotyping system that combines very high throughput and accuracy with low cost per SNP analysis. The system uses our BeadArray platform, a high level of multiplexing, and modular, scalable automation to meet the requirements for cost-effective, genome-wide linkage disequilibrium studies. As implemented in a high-throughput genotyping service facility at Illumina, the system has a current capacity of one million SNP assays per day and is easily expandable. Each SNP call is associated with a quality score that correlates with accuracy

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗

Impact of Human Genome Project on treatment of frail and edentulous patients.

OBJECTIVE: Because of ongoing increases in life expectancy and deferment of edentulousness to older age, dentists are facing a different challenge to satisfy elderly denture wearers with a higher prevalence of chronic diseases. This discussion introduces the Human Genome databases as novel and powerful resources to re-examine the core problems experienced by frail and edentulous patients. BACKGROUND: Recent studies demonstrated that mandibular implant overdentures do not necessarily increase masticatory function, perception and satisfaction in denture wearers with adequate edentulous residual ridges. It has been demonstrated that the rate of edentulous residual ridge resorption significantly varies among individuals. The prognosis and cost-effectiveness of denture treatment, with or without implants, may largely depend on how the edentulous ridge is maintained. However, reliable clinical methods permitting dentists to predict the long-term health of the edentulous residual ridge are lacking. MATERIALS AND METHODS: With the completion of the Human Genome Project, the genomic sequence database from this multinational consortium will provide a unique resource to determine the genetic basis of similarity and diversity of humans. RESULTS: One base pair in every 100 to 300 base pairs of the genome sequence varies among humans, suggesting that genetic diagnosis using the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) may provide a novel opportunity to differentiate our edentulous patients. CONCLUSIONS: Future dental service for the elderly will require a personalized care paradigm, using highly sensitive diagnostic technology such as SNP genomic analysis, for recommending the treatment with greatest potential benefit.

Aged↗

[Genetic diagnosis and construction of its system--importance of the individual characteristics of cancer].

Genetic diagnosis is necessary to correct mistaken cancer therapy. Today, the human genome project is rapidly progressing, and genetic diagnosis is also growing more diversely. To make genetic diagnosis truly useful in the treatment of cancer patients, we need to establish a new system which gives real benefit to the patient. One way to make such a system is based on the idea of focusing on the proper characteristics of individual cancers. In addition, we should never forget that the surgically resected tissue reflects the spirit and life of the patient.

DNA↗