ERGDB: Estrogen Responsive Genes Database

Abstract

ERGDB is an integrated knowledge database dedicated to genes responsive to estrogen. Genes included in ERGDB are those whose expression levels are experimentally proven to be either up-regulated or down-regulated by estrogen. Genes included are identified based on publications from the PubMed database and each record has been manually examined, evaluated and selected for inclusion by biologists. ERGDB aims to be a unified gateway to store, search, retrieve and update information about estrogen responsive genes. Each record contains links to relevant databases, such as GenBank, LocusLink, Refseq, PubMed and ATCC. The unique feature of ERGDB is that it contains information on the dependence of gene reactions on experimental conditions. In addition to basic information about the genes, information for each record includes gene functional description, experimental methods used, tissue or cell type, gene reaction, estrogen exposure time and the summary of putative estrogen response elements if the gene's promoter sequence was available. Through a web interface at http://sdmc.i2r.a-star.edu.sg/ergdb/cgi-bin/explore.pl users can either browse or query ERGDB. Access is free for academic and non-profit users.