Knowledge about the Peroxisome in Humans
The Peroxisome
Peroxisomes belong to the microbody family, a class of ubiquitous and essential cell organelles. Fatty acid beta-oxidation is a general feature of peroxisomes, but in higher eukaryotes, they have a number of functions not shared by peroxisomes in lower eukaryotes, including ether phospholipid biosynthesis, fatty acid alpha-oxidation and glyoxylate detoxification. Peroxisomal disorders are a group of inherited diseases that are usually classified in two groups; Peroxisome Biogenesis Disorders (PBDs) and single Peroxisomal Enzyme Deficiencies (PEDs). Peroxisomes play an indispensable role in human physiology, as can be concluded from the devastating consequences of a deficiency of peroxisomes as observed in Zellweger patients.
The Knowledge Base: v1.6
PxKB v1.6 is an intermediate demonstrator that contains and structures the data from v1.0. Version 1.0 (described in Willemsen et al 2008) sought to integrate knowledge about human peroxisomes through the creation of Concept Maps that would be specified and curated by leading experts in the field. 155 concept maps were generated and were made available in the original interface (v1.0). The BioExpert project now aims to provide the framework in which such data can be structured and published using Semantic Web technologies, and also captured and presented through interactions with researchers and research material. The new framework provides many new and exciting possibilities for structuring and capturing and integrating data, which were not possible when the original data was created. We will be able demonstrate these advantages in future versions of PxKB as we rework and improve the content.
