A bioinformatics and network analysis framework to find novel therapeutics for autoimmunity: Supplementary Resources

<p>The immune system protects a host from foreign pathogens. In rare cases, the immune system can attack the<br> cells of the host organism causing autoimmune diseases. We outline a computational framework that combines<br> bioinformatics and network analysis with an emerging targets platform.<br> The computational framework presented here can be used to find drug targets for autoimmune diseases. It can<br> also be used to find existing drugs that can be repurposed to treat autoimmune diseases based on networks of<br> interactions or similarities between different diseases. Information on which gene regions are associated with<br> the disease (single nucleotide polymorphisms) can be used in gene therapy when that technique becomes<br> viable. Our analysis also revealed immune cell subtypes that are implicated in these diseases. These immune<br> cell subtypes can be selected for immunotherapy experiments. Finally, our analysis also reveals intra-cellular<br> and protein-protein interaction networks and pathways that can be targeted with small molecule inhibitors. The<br> downstream off-target effects of these inhibitors can also be determined from such a network analysis. In<br> summary, our computational framework can be used to find novel therapeutics for autoimmune diseases and<br> potentially even other dysfunctions.