My Breakthrough
The Microarrary laboratory
What is the Microarray laboratory?
The facility enables scientists to study thousands of genes
simultaneously.
What is a microarray?
A microarray is an ordered arrangement of thousands of genes on a glass slide. This arrangement is used as a template to study genes in breast cancers. The slide can be used to identify whether specific genes are present or absent in breast cancer cells often derived from breast cancer biopsies.
Approximately 15,000 genes can be put onto one slide; this is more than half of all the genes that humans possess. This means that 20-30 genes can be placed in an area only 1mm square!
How are breast cancer genes studied in the microarray laboratory?
The genes in breast cancer cells are carefully extracted and labelled with a coloured dye. - The labelled genes are applied to the glass slide, where they attach to their specific 'partner' on the slide.
- The slide is read by a computer, which gives data about each gene. The colour and intensity of each dot represents a single gene and shows whether there is a lot or a little of that gene present in the cancer cells.
This equipment has revolutionised the centre's way of
working.
How is the microarray facility being used in Breakthrough's research?
These are just some examples of how the microarray is being used to help scientists further their understanding of breast cancer:
- Providing a 'genetic signature' of a tumour to determine differences between normal breast cells and breast cancer cells.
- Identifying genes that may be new prognostic markers for breast cancer.
The Microarray Facility
The scientists who work in the microarray facility.
Also within "Research"
