RAPID: Resource of Asian Primary Immunodeficiency Diseases

Abstract

Availability of a freely accessible, dynamic and integrated database for primary immunodeficiency diseases (PID) is important both for researchers as well as clinicians. To build a PID informational platform and also as a part of action to initiate a network of PID research in Asia, we have constructed a web-based compendium of molecular alterations in PID, named Resource of Asian Primary Immunodeficiency Diseases (RAPID), which is available as a worldwide web resource at http://rapid.rcai.riken.jp/. It hosts information on sequence variations and expression at the mRNA and protein levels of all genes reported to be involved in PID patients. The main objective of this database is to provide detailed information pertaining to genes and proteins involved in primary immunodeficiency diseases along with other relevant information about protein-protein interactions, mouse studies and microarray gene-expression profiles in various organs and cells of the immune system. RAPID also hosts a tool, mutation viewer, to predict deleterious and novel mutations and also to obtain mutation-based 3D structures for PID genes. Thus, information contained in this database should help physicians and other biomedical investigators to further investigate the role of these molecules in PID.

Figure 1.

A screenshot of the primary information page and mutation data of WAS gene in RAPID. (A) Primary information of WAS gene along with its external resources to IDR (Immunodeficiency resource) and RefDIC (Reference database of Immune cells) is shown. (B) Mutation data curated from the literature reading is shown along with the mutation viewer tool called ‘Mutation@A Glance’ to visualize the mutations both at DNA and protein levels.

Figure 2.

A screenshot of the expression profile, interaction network and mouse studies of WAS gene. (A) Microarray gene expression profile of WAS gene in a particular human microarray data set from GEO. (B) Interaction networks of WAS from HPRD is shown along with the legends, which explain various parameters of interactors in different shapes and colors. (C) Primary information of mouse gene WAS is shown along with anatomical systems affected due to mutations and its allelic composition and phenotypes from MGI database.