The promise of omics approaches for pediatric drug development

Abstract:Omics are large-scale studies that comprehensively try to acquire and analyze a complete set of biomolecules. Their comprehensive nature makes them ideally suited for generating hypotheses on health and disease. Here, we present some of the most commonly applied omics and classify them according to the target molecules and biological processes they study. Omics approaches were enabled by two recent technical revolutions, that is, the sequencing of nucleotides and the mass measurement of biomolecules by mass spectrometry. In essence, genomics creates an image of the genotype, but it is the environment (exposomics) and aging that decide on the activity of the genes, which is studied by epigenomics and transcriptomics. Only when the mRNA is translated into proteins (proteomics), however, does the phenotype arise, with all the metabolites as in- and output (metabolomics). In pediatrics, where age creates a unique phenotype, the development of unique treatments, and drugs cannot exclusively be directed by genomics and require input from all other omics studies.

ISBN:9780323884594

Publication year:2024

Accessibility:Closed