Russian browser for strengthening immunity
Scientists from the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences have developed a multifunctional browser VDJviz to work with large amounts of data obtained using modern DNA sequence analysis tools. The development will accelerate the development of immunogenomics. The article on the results of the work was published in English in the journal BMC Genomics (Bagaev et al., VDJviz: a versatile browser for immunogenomics data).
According to one of the authors of the article Ivan Zvyagin, the program got its name – VDJviz – from the name of groups of genome fragments from which mature genes of the immune system's B- and T-cell receptors, as well as antibodies, are formed: V – variable, D – diversity, and J – joining.
"The complex process of maturation of such genes, called V(D)J-recombination is the basis for the formation of adaptive immunity – the body's protective system, theoretically capable of resisting any pathogen encountered and preventing the development of tumors," the scientist said.
Modern methods of molecular biology allow us to determine the coding sequences of these hypervariable receptors and immunoglobulins. Processing such data with the help of various bioinformatics tools helps researchers to restore the cell repertoires of the adaptive immunity system. VDJviz helps to solve this problem effectively – the program does not require special programming skills and is available to any biologist.
According to Mr. Zvyagin, the project will help in the development of "new methods of therapy for autoimmune and oncological diseases, as well as allergies."
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04.10.2016