A web-based research tool for functional genomics of the microcirculation: The leukocyte adhesion cascade

Objective: Currently, microvascular data are almost exclusively deposited in scholarly journals. With the increasing availability of molecular data and the construction of genomic databases, a need arises to organize physiological data in a more accessible format. The microcirculation is a functional system that spans all organ systems and shares certain characteristics of organization with metabolic pathways, which have successfully been organized around genomic information for several prokaryotes. Here, we present a web-based research and teaching tool (http://hsc.Virginia.EDU/medicine/basic-sci/biomcd/ley/) that covers a small aspect of microcirculatory physiology, the leukocyte adhesion cascade. Methods: Currently, the site is organized in a flat-text mode with hypertext links to GenBank, Medline, and online journals where available. Results: The web-based research and education tool is useful for graduate student education, and as a research resource for genetic researchers interested in gene function and for physiologists and biomedical engineers interested in the molecular basis of the leukocyte adhesion cascade. Our effort is intended to be a beginning toward a distributed database for the microcirculation (microcirculation physiome, see http://www.bme.jhu.edu/news/microphys). Conclusions: We invite all microvascular researchers to provide annotations and comments to make the research and teaching tool more useful to the scientific community.