Breakthrough in cell-type analysis offers new ways to study development a...(other. We can probe into each cell ...),Health

"We can probe into each cell type, see what is there and possibly identify better therapeutic targets," says Heiman. "This approach is much more in line with a rational drug design."

In a major application of TRAP published as a separate study in the same issue of Cell, Rockefeller scientists led by research associate Joseph Doyle and postdoctoral associate Joseph Dougherty went on to characterize the protein profiles of 24 types of cells in the central nervous system, identifying thousands of proteins that were previously unassociated with known cell types. The work in Cell provides the research community with 16 lines of transgenic mice that can be used for a sweeping range of potential neurological experiments. Heintz says his lab will make many more as they pursue detailed studies of other cell types.

"We can now study the molecular phenotypes that occur in specific cell types in response to genetic, environmental or pharmacological perturbations, determine the precise changes within specific cell types as they progress through development and examine the detailed properties of cells as they succumb to the pathological events occurring in neurological diseases such as ataxia telangiectasia, autism and Rett syndrome," says Heintz. "We are very excited by the opportunities this offers to us and our colleagues for investigation of these issues."

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