Denys Chaume

IMGT/GENE-DB: a comprehensive database for human and mouse immunoglobulin and T cell receptor genes

IMGT/GENE-DB is the comprehensive IMGT genome database for immunoglobulin (IG) and T cell receptor (TR) genes from human and mouse, and, in development, from other vertebrates. IMGT/GENE-DB is the international reference for the IG and TR gene nomenclature and works in close collaboration with the HUGO Nomenclature Committee, Mouse Genome Database and genome committees for other species. IMGT/GENE-DB allows a search of IG and TR genes by locus, group and subgroup, which are CLASSIFICATION concepts of IMGT-ONTOLOGY. Short cuts allow the retrieval gene information by gene name or clone name. Direct links with configurable URL give access to information usable by humans or programs. An IMGT/GENE-DB entry displays accurate gene data related to genome (gene localization), allelic polymorphisms (number of alleles, IMGT reference sequences, functionality, etc.) gene expression (known cDNAs), proteins and structures (Protein displays, IMGT Colliers de Perles). It provides internal links to the IMGT sequence databases and to the IMGT Repertoire Web resources, and external links to genome and generalist sequence databases. IMGT/GENE-DB manages the IMGT reference directory used by the IMGT tools for IG and TR gene and allele comparison and assignment, and by the IMGT databases for gene data annotation. IMGT/GENE-DB is freely available at http://imgt.cines.fr.

IMGT/JunctionAnalysis: the first tool for the analysis of the immunoglobulin and T cell receptor complex V--J and V--D--J JUNCTIONs

MOTIVATION To create the enormous diversity of 10(12) immunoglobulins (IG) and T cell receptors (TR) per individual, very complex mechanisms occur at the DNA level: the combinatorial diversity results from the junction of the variable (V), diversity (D) and joining (J) genes; the N-diversity represents the addition at random of nucleotides not encoded in the genome; and somatic hypermutations occur in IG rearranged sequences. The accurate annotation of the junction between V, D, J genes in rearranged IG and TR sequences represents therefore a huge challenge by its uniqueness and complexity. We developed IMGT/JunctionAnalysis to analyse automatically in detail the IG and TR junctions, according to the IMGT Scientific chart rules, based on the IMGT-ONTOLOGY concepts. RESULTS IMGT/JunctionAnalysis is the first tool for the detailed analysis of the IG and TR complex V-J and V-D-J JUNCTION(s). It delimits, at the nucleotide level, the genes resulting from the combinatorial diversity. It identifies accurately the D genes in the junctions of IG heavy (IGH), TR beta (TRB) and delta (TRD) chains. It delimits the palindromic P-REGION(s) and the N-REGION(s) resulting from the N-diversity. It evaluates the number of somatic hypermutations for each gene, within the JUNCTION. IMGT/JunctionAnalysis is capable of analysing, in a single run, an unlimited number of junctions from the same species (currently human or mouse) and from the same locus. AVAILABILITY IMGT/JunctionAnalysis is available from the IMGT Home page at http://imgt.cines.fr

IMGT/LIGM-DB, the IMGT® comprehensive database of immunoglobulin and T cell receptor nucleotide sequences

IMGT/LIGM-DB is the IMGT® comprehensive database of immunoglobulin (IG) and T cell receptor (TR) nucleotide sequences from human and other vertebrate species. It was created in 1989 by LIGM, Montpellier, France and is the oldest and the largest database of IMGT®. IMGT/LIGM-DB includes all germline (non-rearranged) and rearranged IG and TR genomic DNA (gDNA) and complementary DNA (cDNA) sequences published in generalist databases. IMGT/LIGM-DB allows searches from the Web interface according to biological and immunogenetic criteria through five distinct modules depending on the user interest. For a given entry, nine types of display are available including the IMGT flat file, the translation of the coding regions and the analysis by the IMGT/V-QUEST tool. IMGT/LIGM-DB distributes expertly annotated sequences. The annotations hugely enhance the quality and the accuracy of the distributed detailed information. They include the sequence identification, the gene and allele classification, the constitutive and specific motif description, the codon and amino acid numbering, and the sequence obtaining information, according to the main concepts of IMGT-ONTOLOGY. They represent the main source of IG and TR gene and allele knowledge stored in IMGT/GENE-DB and in the IMGT reference directory. IMGT/LIGM-DB is freely available at .

IMGT/GeneInfo: enhancing V(D)J recombination database accessibility

IMGT/GeneInfo is a user-friendly online information system that provides information on data resulting from the complex mechanisms of immunoglobulin (IG) and T cell receptor (TR) V(D)J recombinations. For the first time, it is possible to visualize all the rearrangement parameters on a single page. IMGT/GeneInfo is part of the international ImMunoGeneTics information system (IMGT), a high-quality integrated knowledge resource specializing in IG, TR, major histocompatibility complex (MHC), and related proteins of the immune system of human and other vertebrate species. The IMGT/GeneInfo system was developed by the TIMC and ICH laboratories (with the collaboration of LIGM), and is the first example of an external system being incorporated into IMGT. In this paper, we report the first part of this work. IMGT/GeneInfo_TR deals with the human and mouse TRA/TRD and TRB loci of the TR. Data handling and visualization are complementary to the current data and tools in IMGT, and will subsequently allow the modelling of V(D)J gene use, and thus, to predict non-standard recombination profiles which may eventually be found in conditions such as leukaemias or lymphomas. Access to IMGT/GeneInfo is free and can be found at http://imgt.cines.fr/GeneInfo.

IMGT/GeneInfo: T cell receptor gamma TRG and delta TRD genes in database give access to all TR potential V(D)J recombinations.

BackgroundAdaptative immune repertoire diversity in vertebrate species is generated by recombination of variable (V), diversity (D) and joining (J) genes in the immunoglobulin (IG) loci of B lymphocytes and in the T cell receptor (TR) loci of T lymphocytes. These V-J and V-D-J gene rearrangements at the DNA level involve recombination signal sequences (RSS). Whereas many data exist, they are scattered in non specialized resources with different nomenclatures (eg. flat files) and are difficult to extract.DescriptionIMGT/GeneInfo is an online information system that provides, through a user-friendly interface, exhaustive information resulting from the complex mechanisms of T cell receptor V-J and V-D-J recombinations. T cells comprise two populations which express the αβ and γδ TR, respectively. The first version of the system dealt with the Homo sapiens and Mus musculus TRA and TRB loci whose gene rearrangements allow the synthesis of the αβ TR chains. In this paper, we present the second version of IMGT/GeneInfo where we complete the database for the Homo sapiens and Mus musculus TRG and TRD loci along with the introduction of a quality control procedure for existing and new data. We also include new functionalities to the four loci analysis, giving, to date, a very informative tool which allows to work on V(D)J genes of all TR loci in both human and mouse species. IMGT/GeneInfo provides more than 59,000 rearrangement combinations with a full gene description which is freely available at http://imgt.cines.fr/GeneInfo.ConclusionIMGT/GeneInfo allows all TR information sequences to be in the same spot, and are now available within two computer-mouse clicks. This is useful for biologists and bioinformaticians for the study of T lymphocyte V(D)J gene rearrangements and their applications in immune response analysis.

IMGT-Choreography: processing of complex immunogenetics knowledge

IMGT, the international ImMunoGeneTics information system® (http://imgt.cines.fr) is a high quality integrated knowledge resource specialized in immunoglobulins (IG), T cell receptors (TR), major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and related proteins of the immune system (RPI) of human and other vertebrates. IMGT provides a common access to standardized data from genome, proteome, genetics and tridimensional structures. The accuracy and the consistency of IMGT data are based on IMGT-ONTOLOGY, a semantic specification of terms used in immunogenetics and immunoinformatics. IMGTONTOLOGY is formalized using XML schemas (IMGT-ML) for interoperability with other information systems. We are developing Web services to automatically query IMGT databases and tools. This is the first step towards IMGT-Choreography which will trigger and coordinate dynamic interactions between IMGT Web services, to process complex significant biological and clinical requests. IMGT-Choreography will further increase the IMGT leadership in immunogenetics medical research (repertoire analysis in autoimmune diseases, AIDS, leukemias,...), biotechnology related to antibody engineering and therapeutical approaches.