Toxicogenomics Review Articles

  Toxicogenomics studies are built on standard toxicology studies, and one major goal of toxicogenomics is to detect relationships between changes in global gene expression and toxicological endpoints, including histopathology, clinical chemistry, and other toxicological parameters. In addition to interpret microarray data appropriately, it is desirable to perform comparative analyses with data obtained from well-characterized toxicants. Therefore, toxicogenomic databases containing high-quality global gene expression and traditional toxicological data are essential. The data were collected at eight different time points following either single or repeated exposure. In vitro data sets contain information regarding the effects on rat and human hepatocytes resulting from exposure to the same compounds. The online version of this database, Open TG-GATEs, is now available for free public download. This project is currently in its second stage, known as the Toxicogenomics Informatics Project (TGP2). The goals of the TGP2 are as follows: (1) establish genomic biomarkers for predicting the toxicity of drug candidates in the early stages of drug development (2) enhancement of the ability between experimental animals and the humans, and  (3) apply toxicogenomic data as part of the regulatory decision-making process.   These collaborative efforts will accelerate future advances in toxicogenomic research, and will contribute to the development of safer and more effective drugs.