The emerging importance of DNA mapping and other comprehensive screening techniques, as tools to identify new drug targets and as a means of (cancer) therapy personalisation

Abstract

Every human being is genetically unique and this individuality is not only marked by morphologic and physical characteristics but also by an individual's response to a particular drug. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are largely responsible for one's individuality. A drug may be ineffective in one patient, whereas the exact same drug may cure another patient. Recent advances in DNA mapping and other screening technologies have provided researchers and drug developers with crucial information needed to create drugs that are specific for a given individual. In the future, physicians will be able to prescribe individualised drugs adjusted to, for example, activities of specific enzymatic pathways that would either be targeted by these drugs, or would be responsible for drug conversion or inactivation. Furthermore, the mapping of the human genome allows broader development and application of drugs that act on the level of gene transcription rather than as simple biochemical inhibitors or activators of certain enzymes. Such new approaches will maximise desired therapeutic results and may completely eliminate severe side effects. To illustrate the potential of genetic translational research, the authors discuss available analytical methodologies such as; gene arrays, flow cytometry-based screening for SNPs, proteomics, metabolomics, real-time PCR, and other methods capable of detecting both SNPs, as well as more profound changes in cell metabolism. Finally, the authors provide several examples that focus mostly on targeting protein-DNA interactions, but also other processes.