Abstract B06: HTSvis: An user-friendly application for analysis of arrayed high-throughput experiments by interactive data representations

Abstract

Abstract The presented application HTSvis provides an user-interface tool for interactive analysis of arrayed high-throughput screening experiments. Arrayed formats are broadly used for cell-based screens which help to reveal mechanisms of complex diseases such as cancer. Technological advances allow to screen tens of thousands experimental conditions in a single experiments resulting in large datasets with complicated annotation files. Software packages for standardized analysis with a minimized programming effort have been developed accordingly. Even though such pipelines provide comprehensive analysis options, interpretation of the results remains a challenge as the user has to manually compare files and possibly re-run the analysis to prosecute certain hypotheses. Here we present HTSvis, a web application that visualizes data from arrayed screens. The data can be read-in as result files of the established R package CellHTS2 or as any spreadsheet table. This enables the user to feed in data which has been statistically analyzed whilst preserving flexibility to analyze data independent of the CellHTS2 package. The application provides several informative data representations like heatmaps, scatter plots and tables. Within the application, the data can be browsed in an ad hoc manner via the implemented user interface. This allows the user to assess data quality, compare experiments, identify measurements of interest and to verify generated hypotheses in an exploratory manner. The direct allocation of data points to experimental conditions is preserved in all representations facilitating an intuitive interpretation. HTSvis is easy to install, data input is straight forward and no programming skills are required for the usage. The application is compatible with common web browsers and can be set up on local computers as well as on server clusters which allows parallel access for multiple users. Summarized, HTSvis provides a helpful tool for interactive data analysis and interpretation for both, users with and without programming skills. Thereby, the application also promotes the cooperation and exchange of ideas between bioinformaticians and experimental biologists or between collaborators. Citation Format: Christian Scheeder, Florian Heigwer, Michael Boutros. HTSvis: An user-friendly application for analysis of arrayed high-throughput experiments by interactive data representations [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Precision Medicine Series: Opportunities and Challenges of Exploiting Synthetic Lethality in Cancer; Jan 4-7, 2017; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2017;16(10 Suppl):Abstract nr B06.