Patent ID: 7148008
Filing Date: 2006-12-12
Classification: C12Q,G01N

Abstract:
1. A method for diagnosing responders to a glucocorticoid drug for treating asthma from non-responders to the drug, comprising: a) obtaining a sample of cells from a human patient; b) optionally inducing a pro-inflammatory-like state by treating the sample with specific mediators; c) obtaining a gene expression profile from the sample, wherein the expression profile comprises expression values for one or more genes listed in Tables 1, 2A, 2B, 4A, 4B and 5A–5E; and d) comparing the gene expression profile of the sample with a reference gene expression profile indicative of responsiveness to the drug obtained from one or more patients who are responsive to the drug and/or a reference gene expression profile indicative of non-responsiveness to the drug obtained from one or more patients who are non-responsive to the drug, wherein similarity in expression profiles between the sample and reference profiles indicates glucocorticoid sensitivity in the patient from whom the sample was obtained, thereby diagnosing the patient as a responder or non-responder to the drug.