Mutational data integration in gene-oriented files of the Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome database.

Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome (HPS) is a genetically heterogeneous disorder characterized by oculocutaneous albinism and prolonged bleeding due to abnormal vesicle trafficking to lysosomes and related organelles such as melanosomes and platelet dense granules. This HPS database (HPSD; http://liweilab.genetics.ac.cn/HPSD/) provides integrated, annotatory, and curative data that is distributed in a variety of public databases or predicted by bioinformatics servers for the recently cloned human and mouse HPS genes, as well as for the genes responsible for HPSrelated syndromes, such as ChediakHigashi Syndrome (CHS), Griscelli syndrome (GS), oculocutaneous albinism (OCA), Usher syndrome type 1B (USH1B), and ocular albinism (OA). The HPSD is designed by using a unique GeneOriented File (GOF) format. Seven blocks (genomic, transcript, protein, function, mutation, phenotype, and reference) are carefully annotated in each userfriendly GOF entry. The HPSD emphasizes paired human and mouse GOF entries. The genes included in this database (currently 58 in total) are arbitrarily divided into four categories: 1) Human and Mouse HPS, 2) Mouse HPS Only, 3) Putative Mouse or Human HPS, and 4) HPS Related Syndromes. All the mutations in these genes are integrated in the GOFs. We expect that these very informative and peerreviewed GOFs will be shortcuts to utilize the webbased information for the emerging interdisciplinary studies of HPS.