EDTSA

EURO-THYMAIDE publishes EDTSA, the European Database of Thymus self-antigens.

What is EDTSA?

EDTSA is a data base about promiscuous gene expression in the thymus. It is a new tool aiming at supporting genomic research on the Thymus. For each autoantigen, a compilation of all published information about their expression in the thymus is given. An extraction of the most important data has been done to easily give a general overview of their expression in the thymus.

To whom it is addressed and what is its objective?

EDTSA is addressed to researchers interested in the study of promiscuous gene expression in the thymus. There are an increasing number of reports describing genes expressed promiscuously in the thymus and the main objective of EDTSA is to make a compilation of all published information about them.

How does it work and is it free of charge?

EDTSA is an easily usable database which has three main sections: (1)"Thymic expression": A list with all the autoantigens included in the database is displayed. Selecting any gene and pressing the button "Search references for this gene" a list of all related references is shown. For each reference, a summary of the most relevant information has been included to make easy the integration of all available data. (2) "General gene information": A list with all the autoantigens included in the data base is displayed. Selecting any gene and pressing the button "Search this gene" complete information of the gene is shown, including links to other interesting databases. New genes can be included in the database finding them through their "GeneID", "Symbol" and "Gene name", although it requires a higher level password. (3) "References". A list with all the references included in the database is displayed. The access to EDTSA is free of charge but, for the time being, is restricted to EURO-THYMAIDE partners.

Can individual users contribute to develop the database?

After this initial implementation, all EURO-THYMAIDE partners can contribute to develop the database. Any published data that help us to complete the compilation of data about promiscuous gene expression in the thymus will be welcome and, of course, any idea or suggestion about the next steps to improve EDTSA.

In which context is this database developed?

EDTSA has been developed mainly by Lab. Immunobiology for Research and Applications to Diagnosis of the Institute Badalona in Spain, headed by Dr. Ricardo Pujol-Borrell in collaboration with the Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum Division of Cellular Immunology in Heidelberg (Germany) headed by Dr. Bruno Kyewsky in the context of one of the main objectives of the first Work package "Analysis of promiscuous gene expression" and, in fact, it is a complement of our experimental work on the analysis and genetic basis of inter-individual variability in promiscuous gene expression in the thymus. The informatics interface of EDTSA has been done by EBIOINTEL company in Barcelona.

Coordinates for further contacts, technical support and registration:

For any question, suggestion or data that can help us to continue developing the database or improve it, you can contact:

Roger Colobran
Lab. Immunobiology for Research and Applications to Diagnosis
Institute Germans Trias & Pujol for Research in Health Sciences
Canyet s/n, E-08916 Badalona

Tel: +34-9-34 97 86 60
e-mail: rogercol@yahoo.com

Website: www.EDTSA.org