Measuring Consequences of Protein Misfolding and Cellular Stress Using OMICS Techniques - Protein Misfolding and Cellular Stress in Disease and Aging - page 117

DNA

extraction/
fractionation

SNP
analysis

metabolites

RNA

genomics

subcellular/
biochemical
fractionation

metabolomics

Array
analysis

protein

transcriptomics proteomics

Fig. 1. Overview over major OMICS technologies. For details see text.

chapters for these methods in this volume. Instead, a summary of
the approaches will be presented along with recent examples of
applications pertinent to the contents of this volume. We will try to
evaluate the uses and emerging perspectives of such methodology
in this context. This will hopefully enable readers to make qualified
decisions on when and how to perform such analyses and to develop
strategies to explore the data and develop follow-up strategies. We
will focus on four OMICS: GENOMICS, TRANSCRIPTOMICS,
PROTEOMICS, and METABOLOMICS, which represent most
molecules present in a cell (see Fig. 1 ). With the current state of the
art of these methods, GENOMICS and TRANSCRIPTOMICS
have the potential to cover a very high proportion of their targets.
Typical PROTEOMIC analyses have a lower coverage, which can
be partially overcome by fractionation and separation and joining
together of many separate analyses. METABOLOMICS has so far
the lowest coverage, also when combined with fractionation.
Finally, we will briefly touch on genome-wide RNA interference
(RNAi) studies, and, since the complexity of the data of all these
analyses cannot be handled without the aid of computer-assistance,
we will introduce the role and strategies of bioinformatics.

2. Genomics

Genome-wide association studies involve rapid scanning for
markers across the complete genomes of many individuals to
find genetic variations associated with a particular disease.
Such studies are particularly useful in finding genetic variations

2.1. Genome-Wide
Association Studies