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RAGE and PRAY

The Pharmacogenomics Journal volume 1, pages 90–91 (2001)Cite this article

Random activation of gene expression, or RAGE, is an innovative new approach to gene discovery. The method involves the creation of normalized transcript libraries in vivo, which also allows the phenotypic consequences of gene overexpression to be assessed. Thus, RAGE seamlessly integrates the traditionally distinct processes of gene discovery and functional assignment, giving pharmacogenomics a powerful new tool.

A major stumbling block to other gene discovery methods, for example expressed sequence tags (ESTs) and serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE), is the fact that genes are transcribed at vastly different rates. This imposes the law of diminishing returns, making discovery of genes transcribed at low levels difficult and time consuming. RAGE helps remove this obstacle, since the genes are all activated by the same promoter, and should therefore be transcribed with equal efficiency. In essence, RAGE provides a pathway to normalized production of transcripts, hence vastly improving the efficiency of gene discovery.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    D J Smith

  2. Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    D J Smith

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  1. D J Smith
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Correspondence to D J Smith.

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Smith, D. RAGE and PRAY. Pharmacogenomics J 1, 90–91 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.tpj.6500031

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