The book is of interest to academic and industrial researchers but also clinicians who are working on inflammation related topics and would like to extend their knowledge about microarrays and the application thereof. After reading the book a researcher or clinician should be in the position to plan, perform and analyse or to critically review microarray experiments related to inflammation research.

So far, non of the published books covers all aspects which need to be taken into account when planning and performing a microrray experiment in inflammation research. Normally, for a researcher or clinician doing a microarray experiment it is not enough to have knowledge about microarrays , as the experiment does not start with purified and quality controlled RNA and does not end with signal intensities. Things like appropriate cell sorting techniques, stabilisation and transport of RNA or cells, the knowledge how to deal with whole blood as well as options for automation are crucial for a successful application of microarrays. Moreover these aspects are the main obstacles for transferring microarray based inflammation analysis from bench to bedside and the limiting factors for higher through put as needed in multicenter studies.

Microarray and inflammation: An introduction.- Microarray and inflammation: An introduction.- Methods and protocols for the generation of gene expression profiles in inflammation research.- Whole blood.- Separation of whole blood cells and its impact on gene expression.- Skin and skin models.- Adipose tissue.- Samples isolated by flow cytometry.- Magnetic cell sorting.- T7 based amplification protocols.- Amplification of cDNA from single or rare cells by global PCR (exponential amplification).- Selected applications of microarrays in inflammation research.- Gene expression patterns in asthma.- Gene expression profiling in neurological and neuroinflammatory diseases.- Aspects of gene expression in B cell lymphomas.- The genes behind rheumatology.- miRNA patterns in hematopoietic malignancies.- Keep it simple: microarray cross-platform comparison without statistics.- Microarrays in drug development: regulatory perspective.- Outlook.- Complementary microarray technologies.