Molecular biology in the intensive care unit: a framework for interpretation.

The tools of cellular and molecular biology provide insight into the mechanisms operating in cellular functions and have already advanced the diagnosis and treatment of human disease. The goal of this article is to provide a framework utilizing recent advances in basic science. Changing the frame of analysis from clinically familiar systems physiology to the interior of a cell, and then considering the cell as an information repository and processor, may simplify the interpretation of molecular and cellular studies. Gene therapy and manipulation of signal transduction pathways are used to demonstrate how the framework can be applied to augment clinicians' understanding of these processes.