title: Towards a consensus on datasets and evaluation metrics for developing B-cell epitope prediction tools.
abstract: A B-cell epitope is the three-dimensional structure within an antigen that can be bound to the variable region of an antibody. The prediction of B-cell epitopes is highly desirable for various immunological applications, but has presented a set of unique challenges to the bioinformatics and immunology communities. Improving the accuracy of B-cell epitope prediction methods depends on a community consensus on the data and metrics utilized to develop and evaluate such tools. A workshop, sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), was recently held in Washington, DC to discuss the current state of the B-cell epitope prediction field. Many of the currently available tools were surveyed and a set of recommendations was devised to facilitate improvements in the currently existing tools and to expedite future tool development. An underlying theme of the recommendations put forth by the panel is increased collaboration among research groups. By developing common datasets, standardized data formats, and the means with which to consolidate information, we hope to greatly enhance the development of B-cell epitope prediction tools.
authors.affiliation: Immune Epitope Database and Analysis Resource (IEDB), La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, California, USA. jgbaum@liai.org
authors.forename: Jason A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Greenbaum
authors.forename: Pernille Haste
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Andersen
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Blythe
authors.forename: Huynh-Hoa
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Bui
authors.forename: Raul E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Cachau
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Crowe
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Davies
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Kolaskar
authors.forename: Ole
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Lund
authors.forename: Sherrie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Morrison
authors.forename: Brendan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mumey
authors.forename: Yanay
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ofran
authors.forename: Jean-Luc
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Pellequer
authors.forename: Clemencia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pinilla
authors.forename: Julia V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Ponomarenko
authors.forename: G P S
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Raghava
authors.forename: Marc H V
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: van Regenmortel
authors.forename: Erwin L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Roggen
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sette
authors.forename: Avner
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schlessinger
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sollner
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zand
authors.forename: Bjoern
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Peters
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D032921:Consensus; D030562:Databases, Protein; D018985:Epitopes, B-Lymphocyte / Q000032:analysis* / Q000145:classification; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006287:Health Planning Guidelines; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D008958:Models, Molecular; D019151:Peptide Library; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D020539:Sequence Analysis, Protein / Q000379:methods*; D012984:Software
chemical_list: D018985:Epitopes, B-Lymphocyte; D019151:Peptide Library