Using gene networks to drug target identification

Abstract

The complete genome sequences have provided a plethora of potential drug targets. Gene network technique holds the promise of providing a conceptual framework for analysis of the profusion of biological data being generated on potential drug targets and providing insights to understand the biological regulatory mechanisms in diseases, which are playing an increasingly important role in searching for novel drug targets from the information contained in genomics. In this paper, we discuss some of the network-based approaches for identifying drug targets, with the emphasis on the gene network strategy. In addition, some of the relevant data resources and computational tools are given.