Abstract: The present invention provides methods for distinguishing the fractions of polynucleotide sequences which hybridize to any given probe, including probes on microarrays such as those described herein. In particular, the present invention enables users to identify the fraction of sequences which are perfectly complementary to a probe, thereby correcting for effects of cross hybridization in a hybridization assay. The methods of the invention work by monitoring the kinetics of dissociation of sequences from the probe so that a resulting “dissociation curve” may be compared to a combination of the individual “dissociation profiles” for each sequence which hybridizes. In alternative embodiments, the invention also provides computer systems for performing the present methods, as well as databases of the dissociation profiles.

Abstract: This invention relates to methods and systems for characterizing the actions of drugs in cells. In particular, the invention provides methods for determining the presence of a number of primary targets through which a drug, drug candidate, or other compound of interest acts on a cell. Thus, the invention also relates to methods for drug development based on the disclosed methods for determining the presence of a number of primary targets of a drug. The methods of the invention involve: (i) measuring responses of cellular constituents to graded exposures of the cell to a drug of interest; (ii) identifying an "inflection concentration" of the drug for each cellular constituent measured; and (iii) identifying "expression sets" of cellular constituents from the distribution of the inflection drug concentrations. Each expression set corresponds to a particular primary target of the drug.

Abstract: The present invention provides methods and systems for testing and confirming how well a network model represents a biological pathway in a biological system. The network model comprises a network of logical operators relating input cellular constituents (e.g., mRNA or protein abundances) to output classes of cellular constituents, which are affected by the pathway in the biological system. The methods of this invention provide, first, for choosing complete and efficient experiments for testing the network model which compare relative changes in the biological system in response to perturbations of the network.

Abstract: The present invention provides methods for identifying and representing the biological pathways of drug action on a cell by: (i) measuring responses of cellular constituents to graded exposures of the cell to a drug of interest; (ii) measuring the responses of cellular constituents to perturbations in one or more biological pathways of the cell; and (iii) scaling a combination of the measured pathway responses to fit the measured drug responses best according to an objective measure. In alternative embodiments, the present invention also provides for assessing the significance of the identified representation and for verifying that the identified pathways are actual pathway of drug action. In various embodiments, the effects on the cell can be determined by measuring gene expression, protein abundances, protein activities, or a combination of such measurements.