NETMAGE: a humaN-disEase phenoType MAp GEnerator for the Visualization of PheWAS

Abstract

SummaryGiven genetic associations from a PheWAS, a disease-disease network can be constructed where nodes represent phenotypes and edges represent shared genetic associations between phenotypes. To improve the accessibility of the visualization of shared genetic components across phenotypes, we developed the humaN-disEase phenoType MAp GEnerator (NETMAGE), a web-based tool that produces interactive phenotype network visualizations from summarized PheWAS results. Users can search the map by a variety of attributes, and they can select nodes to view information such as related phenotypes, associated SNPs, and other network statistics. As a test case, we constructed a network using UK BioBank PheWAS summary data. By examining the associations between phenotypes in our map, we can potentially identify novel instances of pleiotropy, where loci influence multiple phenotypic traits. Thus, our tool provides researchers with a means to identify prospective genetic targets for drug design, contributing to the exploration of personalized medicine. Availability and implementationOur service runs at https://hdpm.biomedinfolab.com. Source code can be downloaded at https://github.com/dokyoonkimlab/netmage. Contactdokyoon.kim@pennmedicine.upenn.edu Supplementary informationSupplementary data and user guide are available at Bioinformatics online.