VAMPIRE microarray suite: a Web-based platform for the interpretation of gene expression data. Nucleic Acids Res

Microarrays are invaluable high-throughput tools used to snapshot the gene expression profiles of cells and tissues. Among the most basic and funda-mental questions asked of microarray data is whe-ther individual genes are significantly activated or repressed by a particular stimulus. We have previ-ously presented two Bayesian statistical methods for this level of analysis, collectively known as variance-modeled posterior inference with regional exponentials (VAMPIRE). These methods each require a sophisticated modeling step followed by integration of a posterior probability density. We pre-sent here a publicly available, web-based platform that allows users to easily load data, associate related samples and identify differentially expressed features using the VAMPIRE statistical framework. In addition, this suite of tools seamlessly integrates a novel gene annotation tool, known as GOby, which identifies statistically overrepresented gene groups. Unlike other tools in this genre, GOby can localize enrichment while respecting the hierarchical struc-ture of annotation systems like Gene Ontology (GO). By identifying statistically significant enrich-ment of GO terms, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways, and TRANSFAC transcrip-tion factor binding sites, users can gain substantial insight into the physiological significance of sets of differentially expressed genes. The VAMPIRE microarray suite can be accessed a