Gene signature
Encyclopedia
A condition's gene signature is the group of gene
s in a type of cell
whose combined expression
pattern is uniquely characteristic of that condition. Ideally, the gene signature can be used to select a group of patients at a specific state of a disease with accuracy that facilitates selection of treatments.
Gene
A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...
s in a type of cell
Cell (biology)
The cell is the basic structural and functional unit of all known living organisms. It is the smallest unit of life that is classified as a living thing, and is often called the building block of life. The Alberts text discusses how the "cellular building blocks" move to shape developing embryos....
whose combined expression
Gene expression
Gene expression is the process by which information from a gene is used in the synthesis of a functional gene product. These products are often proteins, but in non-protein coding genes such as ribosomal RNA , transfer RNA or small nuclear RNA genes, the product is a functional RNA...
pattern is uniquely characteristic of that condition. Ideally, the gene signature can be used to select a group of patients at a specific state of a disease with accuracy that facilitates selection of treatments.