Cytokine Information System and Pathway Visualization

In this paper, we highlight the development of a web application system. Its main objective is to provide pathway visualization functionalities for inter-cytokine relationships, as well as for other types of relationships, with a specific cytokine(s) of interest. A natural language processor is first used to extract information from a certain web page that concerns the cytokine(s) of interest. The results obtained are then further processed and then displayed graphically to the user. The system displays how the cytokine(s) of interest interacts with other cytokines and cells. Useful information such as the type of reaction and catalyst involved, if any, are also displayed. In addition, the system also offers functionalities for graphical manipulations of the visualized pathways. The system has been shown to provide better overview, and hence, improved learning to readers who are new to this field by virtue of accurate inputs obtained from the natural language processing module.