Abstract: The present invention relates to modulation of MAP2K2 and DUSP-1 genes and proteins encoded thereby. More specifically, the present invention relates to modulation of MAP2K2 and DUSP-1 genes to detect and condition photo-damaged skin, preferably, chronically photo-damaged skin, as well as to identify active compounds and compositions for skin conditioning.

Abstract: A method for enhanced detection and statistical analysis of differentially expressed genes in gene chip microarrays employs: (a) transformation of gene expression data into an expression data matrix (image data paradigm); (b) wavelet denoising of expression data matrix values to enhance their signal-to-noise ratio; and (c) singular value decomposition (SVD) of the wavelet-denoised expression data matrix to concentrate most of the gene expression signal in primary matrix eigenarrays to enhance the separation of true gene expression values from background noise. The transformation of gene chip data into an image data paradigm facilitates the use of powerful image data processing techniques, including a generalized logarithm (g-log) function to stabilize variance over intensity, and the WSVD combination of wavelet packet transform and denoising and SVD to clearly enhance separation of the truly changed genes from background noise.