Rapid prediction of gene expression levels using spectroscopy

DOMAIN The study of gene expression in cells is increasingly being used to understand their biological function. The genes are up- and down-regulated by a complex protein regulatory network, which responds to the biochemical changes originating from within and outside the cell. One of the most popular methods for performing gene expression studies of a large number of genes today is the micro-array technique. Expression is here measured through the amount of RNA strings produced for the different genes. However, the micro-array technique is not suitable for all applications as it is slow, expensive and rather noisy. This means that there are several applications where the technique is not practical such as for real-time observations, large-scale experiments and use in the field for rapid measurement.

DESCRIPTION The solution to this problem is to assume the space of gene expression patterns for a particular problem domain is less than the theoretically possible. The main part of the method is to create a mathematical map from the feature profiles originating from rapid and sensitive spectroscopic techniques to gene expression profiles originally measured by micro-arrays. The generated mathematical map can then be applied to provide rapid and cheap estimations to gene expression profiles. This approach is also here being used to create genetic images, i.e. a way to determine the spatial distribution of gene expression levels in the study of tissues.

UNIQUE SELLING POINTS
• Enables gene expression measurements in real time
• Gene expression for a large number of samples can be measured rapidly and cheaply

POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS
• Environmental monitoring of organisms exposed to toxic materials
• Rapid diagnosis of medical conditions from the measurement of gene expression levels of patients in hospitals or in emergency conditions
• Measurement of gene expression changes in military and security forces after exposure to dangerous chemical and biological agents

STATE OF DEVELOPMENT The theory method is currently being developed.

Inventor(s): Bjørn Alsberg

Type of Offer: Licensing



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