Newly Available Microarray System Focuses on Metabolic Pathway Mutations

A microarray analysis system for rapid and accurate mutation profiling in basic research and drug discovery has now become commercially available.

Acquisition of somatic mutations in human genomic DNA (gDNA) is an important event during tumorigenesis and cancer progression. Somatic mutations occur as single mutations within a gene, multiple mutations within a gene, or mutations present across related genes in a variety of cancers. Cells may respond differently to treatment regimens based on their somatic mutation profile. For example, the mutation status of the EGFR and KRAS genes can predict the physiological response to certain drugs targeting these molecules.

The utility of individual and multiple somatic mutation status information in identifying key signaling transduction disruptions has been demonstrated in numerous research studies. To this end QIAGEN (Venlo, The Netherlands) has launched a line of 96- and 384-well microarray products designed for rapid and accurate mutation profiling.

The pathway-focused qBiomarker Somatic Mutation PCR Arrays are translational research tools that allow rapid and accurate profiling of somatic mutation status for a pathway-focused set of genes and key downstream and associated signaling genes. For example, the ErbB2/HER2/neu Pathway qBiomarker Somatic Mutation PCR Array is designed for studying mutations in the context of the ErbB2 pathway and has the potential for discovering and verifying drug target biomarkers for a variety of human cancers involving the ErbB2 signaling pathway and downstream effectors.

Studies using the array system require approximately two hours from sample to result and are easy to perform: the DNA is extracted from the sample, amplified if needed, and then used for the PCR array with any block-based real-time cycler.

Arrays are available that cover mutations that have been selected from comprehensive databases and literature reviews based on their biological relevance and frequency of occurrence.

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