Background: A number of databases have been developed to collect disease-related molecular, phenotypic and environmental features (DR-MPEs), such as genes, non-coding RNAs, genetic variations, drugs, phenotypes and environmental factors. However, each of current databases focused on only one or two DR-MPEs. There is an urgent demand to develop an integrated database, which can establish semantic associations among disease-related databases and link them to provide a global view of human disease at the biological level. This database, once developed, will facilitate researchers to query various DR-MPEs through disease, and investigate disease mechanisms from different types of data.
Cheng et al. REF have also made progress in establishing semantic associations among disease related databases to provide a more global view of human diseases.
SIDD: A Semantically Integrated Database towards a Global View of Human Disease
PLoS ONE
PLoS ONE
Biology Medicine