Figure 1

An overview of SPIKE. This scheme describes the key components of the system and information flow. SPIKE's three main software components are: 1) A DB of signaling pathways, containing, in distinct tiers, carefully ascertained information uploaded by SPIKE users and supervised by the curators, data from external signaling DBs (e.g., KEGG, Reactome, IntAct), and wide-scale human protein-protein interaction datasets [21–24]. In SPIKE's decentralized architecture, a copy of the DB is installed along with the software in each participating research lab, and these remote site DBs are periodically synchronized with the central DB. The information stored in the SPIKE DB can be readily used by other KBs. 2) A visualization package that allows interactive representation of selected regulatory interactions from the DB, dynamic layout and navigation through the displayed networks, and superposition of high-throughput genomic and proteomic data. Information displayed in the maps is linked to external DBs (e.g., Entrez Genes, PubMed). Prearranged maps for key signaling networks (e.g., p53, apoptosis, cell cycle, ATM, MAPK) were built and are posted at SPIKE website. 3) An algorithmic engine that performs various network analyses, aimed at discovering novel functional interplays between network components.