New techniques are enabling systematic characterization of complicated cell regulatory systems. Bakal et al. describe a method that allows them to screen for precise morphological changes in cells exposed to one of 249 different conditions of gene overexpression or protein depletion by double-stranded RNA. Analysis of 145 quantitative features allowed clustering techniques to characterize the cellular responses and to map signaling networks that control membrane protrusions, tension on the cell membrane, and cell adhesion.
C. Bakal, J. Aach, G. Church, N. Perrimon, Quantitative morphological signatures define local signaling networks regulating cell morphology. Science 316, 1753-1756 (2007). [Abstract] [Full Text]
