A cellular microarray (or cell microarray) is a

laboratory A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratory services are provided in a variety of settings: physicia ...

tool that allows for the

multiplex Multiplex may refer to: * Multiplex (automobile), a former American car make * Multiplex (comics), a DC comic book supervillain * Multiplex (company), a global contracting and development company * Multiplex (assay), a biological assay which measu ...

interrogation of living cells on the surface of a solid support. The support, sometimes called a "chip", is spotted with varying materials, such as

antibodies An antibody (Ab), also known as an immunoglobulin (Ig), is a large, Y-shaped protein used by the immune system to identify and neutralize foreign objects such as pathogenic bacteria and viruses. The antibody recognizes a unique molecule of the ...

proteins Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...

, or

lipids Lipids are a broad group of naturally-occurring molecules which includes fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins A, D, E and K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, phospholipids, and others. The functions of lipids include ...

, which can interact with the cells, leading to their capture on specific spots. Combinations of different materials can be spotted in a given area, allowing not only cellular capture, when a specific interaction exists, but also the triggering of a cellular response, change in

phenotype In genetics, the phenotype () is the set of observable characteristics or traits of an organism. The term covers the organism's morphology or physical form and structure, its developmental processes, its biochemical and physiological proper ...

, or detection of a response from the cell, such as a specific

secreted 440px Secretion is the movement of material from one point to another, such as a secreted chemical substance from a cell or gland. In contrast, excretion is the removal of certain substances or waste products from a cell or organism. The classical ...

factor. There are a large number of types of cellular microarrays: #

Reverse transfection Reverse transfection is a technique for the transfer of genetic material into cells. As DNA is printed on a glass slide for the transfection process (the deliberate introduction of nucleic acids into cells) to occur before the addition of adherent ...

cell microarrays. David M. Sabatini's laboratory developed reverse-transfection cell microarrays at the

Whitehead Institute Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research is a non-profit research institute located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States that is dedicated to improving human health through basic biomedical research. It was founded as a fiscally indepen ...

, publishing their work in 2001. #

PMHC Cellular Microarrays PMHC cellular microarrays are a type of cellular microarray that has been spotted with pMHC complexes peptide- MHC class I or peptide-MHC class II. These biochips can be used to interrogate immune cells, particularly antigen-specific T cell A T ...

. This type of microarray were developed by Daniel Chen, Yoav Soen, Dan Kraft, Patrick Brown and Mark Davis at Stanford University Medical Center.

References

* Chen DS, Davis MM (2006) Molecular and functional analysis using live cell microarrays. Curr Opin Chem Biol 10:28-34 * Chen DS, Soen Y, Stuge TB, Lee PP, Weber JS, Brown PO, Davis MM (2005) Marked Differences in Human Melanoma Antigen-Specific T Cell Responsiveness after Vaccination Using a Functional Microarray. PLoS Med 2: 10: e265

* Soen Y., Chen D. S., Kraft D. L., Davis M. M. and Brown P.O. (2003) Detection and characterization of cellular immune responses using peptide-MHC microarrays. PLoS Biol. 1: E65 (http://biology.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.0000065) {{open access * Chen DS, Davis MM (2005) Cellular immunotherapy: Antigen recognition is just the beginning. Springer Semin Immunopathol 27:119–127 * Chen DS, Soen Y, Davis MM, Brown PO (2004) Functional and molecular profiling of heterogeneous tumor samples using a novel cellular microarray. J Clin Oncol 22:9507 (https://web.archive.org/web/20041020122342/http://meeting.jco.org/cgi/content/abstract/22/14_suppl/9507) * Soen Y, Chen DS, Stuge TB, Weber JS, Lee PP, et al. (2004) A novel cellular microarray identifies functional deficiences in tumor-specific T cell responses. J Clin Oncol 22:2510 * Ziauddin J, Sabatini DM (2001) Microarrays of cells expressing defined cDNAs. Nature. 2001 May 3;411(6833):107-10
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