Abstract
A DNA microarray (also commonly known as DNA chip or GeneChip) is a collection of microscopic DNA spots, commonly representing single genes, arrayed on a solid surface by covalent attachment to a chemical matrix, and allow us to quantify expression levels of multiple genes at one time. The remarkable progress and significant advances in the computer technology and the genetic information facilitated the microarray technology contributing to the progress in the allergy study as an extremely powerful screening tool. The usage was extended over the many divergences such as comprehensive transcriptome profiling of inflammatory cells, the analysis of the signal transduction cascade of inflamed cells, and the analysis of the pathogenesis of allergic diseases. The progress of this methodology realized the comprehensive analysis of the full potentials of different cell types playing some roles in the formation of allergic inflammation, and revealed many unknown cellular functions and interactions between them. It is thought that the microarray technology will play an important role in drawing the total picture of the networks of life activity involving all molecules, proteins and enzymes in an individual (so-called Systems Biology) as well as in the realization of the tailor-made medicine through analyzing disease pathogenesis in different individuals in detail.
