Targetability of human disease genes

Abstract

The availability of complete genome sequences and the wealth of large-scale biological datasets provide an unprecedented opportunity to elucidate the genetic basis of human diseases. Therapeutically relevant targets should be both 'druggable' and 'disease modifying'. In this review we examine the application of computational biology towards the exploration of druggability, targetability and evolutionary conservation of human disease genes. These analyses could have a tremendous potential for systematic in silico drug target identification in the post-genomic era.