StemCellCKB: An Integrated Stem Cell-Specific Chemogenomics KnowledgeBase for Target Identification and Systems-Pharmacology Research.Given the capacity of self-renewal and multilineage differentiation, stem cells are promising sources for use in regenerative medicines as well as in the clinical treatment of certain hematological malignancies and degenerative diseases.  To facilitate stem cell related small molecule study and provide a better understanding of the associated signaling pathways, we have constructed a comprehensive domain-specific chemogenomics resource, called StemCellCKB ( http://www.cbligand.org/StemCellCKB/ ).  StemCellCKB is also implemented with web applications designed specifically to aid in the identification of stem cell relevant protein targets, including TargetHunter, a machine-learning algorithm for predicting small molecule targets based on molecular fingerprints, and HTDocking, a high-throughput docking module for target prediction and systems-pharmacology analyses.  We have systematically tested StemCellCKB to verify data integrity.  This proof-of-concept example demonstrates that StemCellCKB can (1) accurately predict the macromolecular targets of existing stem cell modulators and (2) identify novel small molecules capable of probing stem cell signaling mechanisms, for use in systems-pharmacology studies.  StemCellCKB facilitates the exploration and exchange of stem cell chemogenomics data among members of the broader research community.
StemCellCKB