Thorax 2000;55:329-339
( April )
Occasional review
Recent advances in molecular biological techniques and their
relevance to pulmonary research
B W S Robinsona, D J Erleb, D A Jonesc, S Shapirof, W J Metzgerd, S M Albeldae, W C Parksf, A Boylang
a Department
of Medicine, University of Western Australia, Queen Elizabeth II
Medical Centre, Nedlands, Western Australia 6009, b Lung Biology Centre, UC San Francisco, San
Francisco, CA 94143-0854, USA, c Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Huntsman
Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA, d Department
of Internal Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC
27858-4354, USA, e Pulmonary,
Allergy, and Critical Care Division, 856 BRB II/III, Philadelphia, PA
19104, USA, f Division of
Allergy and Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Washington
University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO 63110, USA, g Pulmonary & Critical
Care Medicine Division, Medical University of South Carolina,
Charleston, SC 29425, USA
Correspondence to: Professor B W S Robinson.
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Introduction |
There have been a number of major advances in molecular biology
in the past few years and the aim of this review is to describe some of
these advances, focusing on their benefits and limitations when applied
to investigating pulmonary disorders. It is written with the practising
pulmonary researcher in mind, not as an introduction for the
uninitiated. Useful web addresses and a list of references are included
to enable interested readers to examine each technique in detail.
New technologies either improve existing techniques or develop new
approaches to old questions in order to generate information more
quickly, easily, accurately or in a more easily repeatable fashion then
existing methods.1 Some of the most powerful new technologies include polymerase chain reaction (PCR) advances, "difference analysis" (that is, the discovery of different gene expression patterns between different cells), transgenic/gene knockout
technology, and gene delivery to tissues/gene therapy.
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Advances in PCR technology |
Since its introduction in . . . [Full text of this article]
