System And Methods For Characterizing A Biological Condition Or Agent Using Selected Gene Expression Profiles

Abstract

Methods are provided for evaluating a biological condition of a subject using a calibrated profile data set derived from a data set having a plurality of members, each member being a quantitative measure of the amount of a subject's RNA or protein as distinct constituents in a panel of constituents. The biological condition may be a naturally occurring physiological state or may be responsive to treatment of the subject with one or more agents. Calibrated profile data sets may be used as a descriptive record for an agent.

1 - 67 . (canceled) 
     
     
         68 . A method for evaluating a biological condition of a subject based on a sample from the subject, the method comprising:
 a) deriving from the sample a first instance of a profile data set, the profile data set including a plurality of members, each member being a quantitative measure of a distinct constituent in a panel of constituents selected so that measurement of the constituents enables measurement of the biological condition;   b) producing a first instance of a calibrated profile data set for the panel, wherein each member of an instance of the calibrated profile data set is a function of a corresponding member of an instance of the profile data set and a corresponding member of an instance of a baseline profile data set for the panel, the calibrated profile data set providing a measure of the biological condition of the subject;   c) accessing a data in a condition database, the condition database having a plurality of records relating to a population of subjects, each record corresponding to a distinct instance of the calibrated profile data set; and   d) evaluating the first instance of the calibrated profile data set in relation to data in the condition database.   
     
     
         69 . The method of  claim 68 , wherein accessing the condition database includes accessing the condition database over a network. 
     
     
         70 . The method of  claim 68 , further comprising supplementing the condition database based on data associated with the first instance of the calibrated profile data set. 
     
     
         71 . The method of  claim 68 , wherein the biological condition is associated with a system of the subject selected from the group consisting of respiratory, vascular, nervous, metabolic, urinary, reproductive, structural, immunological and a combination thereof, and wherein the panel of constituents enables measurement of the condition of the subject in relation to the system. 
     
     
         72 . The method of  claim 68 , wherein each record also references a characteristic of the population relative to the record, wherein the characteristic is selected from the group consisting of age, gender, ethnicity, geographic location, diet, medical disorder, clinical indicator, medication, physical activity, body mass, environmental exposure, and a combination thereof. 
     
     
         73 . A method of diagnosing a biological condition in a subject, comprising:
 a) creating a descriptive record having (1) a first set of numerical gene expression values for a panel of gene loci, each value in the first set corresponding to a single gene locus in the panel of gene loci, the first set of values forming a profile data set for a population of cells subjected to a first biological condition; (2) a second set of numerical gene expression values for the panel of gene loci, each value in the second set corresponding to a single gene locus, the second set of values forming a baseline profile data set for a second population of cells subjected to a second biological condition; and (3) a third set of numbers corresponding to the ratio of the first set of values and the second set of values with respect to each gene locus in the panel, the third set being a calibrated profile data set; the profile data set and the calibrated profile data set being descriptive of the first biological condition with respect to the second biological condition; and   b) diagnosing the biological condition of a subject based on the descriptive record.   
     
     
         74 . The method of  claim 73 , wherein the second set of values is averaged for multiple expression values from multiple populations of cells for each locus in the panel. 
     
     
         75 . The method of  claim 73 , wherein the first population of cells and the second or more population of cells are the same population of cells or a different population of cells. 
     
     
         76 . The method of  claim 73 , wherein the biological condition is a susceptibility to develop a disease. 
     
     
         77 . The method of  claim 73 , wherein the biological condition is selected from the group consisting of inflammation, autoimmune disease, degenerative disease, allergy, vascular disease, ischemia, developmental disease, hormonal condition, infectious disease, cell growth and differentiation disease, and a combination thereof. 
     
     
         78 . The method of  claim 73 , wherein the method further comprises selecting a therapeutic agent based on the diagnosis.