iCartiGD: the Integrated Cartilage Gene Database.
BACKGROUND
Diseases of cartilage, such as arthritis and degenerative disc disease, affect the majority of the general population, particularly with ageing. Discovery and understanding of the genes and pathways involved in cartilage biology will greatly assist research on the development, degeneration and disorders of cartilage.


METHODS
We have established the Integrated Cartilage Gene Database (iCartiGD) of genes that are known, based on results from high throughput experiments, to be expressed in cartilage. Information about these genes is extracted automatically from public databases and presented as a single page report via a web-browser. A variety of flexible search options are provided and the chromosomal distribution of cartilage associated genes can be presented.


CONCLUSIONS
iCartiGD provides a comprehensive source of information on genes known to be expressed in cartilage. It will remain current due to its automatic update capability and provide researchers with an easily accessible resource for studies involving cartilage. Genetic studies of the development and disorders of cartilage will benefit from this database.
Yeung
Ming-Yiu
MY
Department of Biochemistry, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China. juilian_yeung@hotmail.com <juilian_yeung@hotmail.com>
Smith
David K
DK
Chan
Matthew S Y
MS
Li
Cheuk M
CM
Wong
Brian C
BC
Cheung
Kenneth M C
KM
Luk
Keith D K
KD
Cheah
Kathryn S E
KS
Sham
Pak
P
Chan
Danny
D
Song
You-Qiang
YQ
D002356:Cartilage; D002357:Cartilage Diseases / Q000235:genetics*; D030541:Databases, Genetic; D015723:Gene Library; D006801:Humans