Prospective use of DNA microarrays for evaluating renal function and disease.

At the forefront of the revolution in human genomics is DNA microarray technology, which evaluates expression levels or genotypes of thousands of genes simultaneously, by means of miniaturization and parallel processing. Furthermore, advances in bioinformatics will result in the creation of large databases, which will require complex software programming for structural analysis. Over the next decade, DNA microarrays, combined with sophisticated informatics and genomic databases, will provide molecular fingerprints of disease processes and prognoses. This review provides an update on DNA microarray technology and its application to renal diseases.