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Detalle de: GRNContext: an interactive web platform for contextualized gene regulatory networks visualization across human cancers

Title GRNContext: an interactive web platform for contextualized gene regulatory networks visualization across human cancers
Abstract

Summary While current Gene Regulatory Network (GRN) databases provide comprehensive reference maps of potential interactions between transcription factors and target genes, they do not specify which regulatory interactions are active within specific biological contexts. This limitation is particularly critical in cancer, where transcriptional programs are inherently tissue-specific. To address this gap, we developed GRNContext, an interactive web platform designed for the visualization, exploration, and comparative analysis of gene regulatory networks contextualized across 33 cancer types from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Our approach uses the TFLink human reference GRN as a starting point and integrates TCGA transcriptomic profiles to infer cancer-specific regulatory activity. Regulatory relevance was assessed using complementary machine learning and statistical methods, which were unified into a consensus score to prioritize and filter the most relevant candidate regulators for each target gene. By providing both curated context-specific GRNs and a user-friendly platform, GRNContext constitutes a comprehensive and accessible resource that supports mechanistic investigations, hypothesis generation, and translational research focused on transcriptional regulation in cancer. Availability and Implementation GRNContext is supported by all major browsers and freely available on the web at https://apps.cienciavida.org/grncontext. It is implemented as a client-server web application featuring a FastAPI backend and a React frontend utilizing Cytoscape.js for interactive network visualization, all containerized via Docker for cross-platform compatibility.

Apa Reference Pezoa-Soto, I., Hernández-Galaz, S., De Las Rivas, J., Lladser, A., Varas-Godoy, M. & Martin, A.J.M. (2026). GRNContext: an interactive web platform for contextualized gene regulatory networks visualization across human cancers. Bioinformatics, 42(8). 10.1093/bioinformatics/btag389
Doi 10.1093/bioinformatics/btag389
Publication Date 13 Jun 2026
Publication Type Article
Researcher Javier De Las Rivas
Ontology Transcriptomics, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning in Biology, Biological Databases, Gene regulatory networks, Regulatory biology, Containers Computing, Statistical Methods for Biology, Web-service
Research Groups
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