The allergome web site - a database of allergenic molecules. Aim, structure, and data of a web-based resource

Abstract

Studies dedicated to experimental and clinical aspects of allergenic molecules are on the increase. More than 4500 papers have been selected. The scope of the Allergome web site is to give the best insight to all this data available on allergens. The Allergome database has been developed using the MySQL package, and the PHP language has been used to develop the original software on a Linux platform. New papers are processed within few days after publication. Archives contain data on accession numbers, biological functions, common and previous names, expression vectors, post-translational factors, cohort/test/country data for prevalence, references, reagents, routes of exposure, sequence homologies, sources, and tissues. There are 7,831 links to data available from other web sites, and 10,542 internal cross-links stored in all the archives. Retrieval of the available information is made possible by a customized search engine. Data available on the Allergome web site are linked each other giving a dynamic access to information. The User is thus allowed to navigate within the Allergome web site. Allergens are marked whenever they received the official name by the IUIS Allergen Nomenclature Sub-Committee (598 monographs), but other molecules whose allergenic nature has been documented are included in the Allergome database (329 monographs). Each molecule is described in a monograph that includes general features of the allergen and data on allergenicity of the native and cloned molecule. An e-Newsletter is automatically generated during the data entry. The Allergome is an independent project, and is now managed by “Allergy Data Laboratories”, a not-for-profit company.