HisCoM-GGI: Software for Hierarchical Structural Component Analysis of Gene-Gene Interactions

Abstract

Gene-gene interaction (GGI) analysis is known to play an important role in explain missing heritability issue. Many previous studies have already proposed software to analyze GGI, but most methods focus on a binary phenotype in case-control design. In this study, we developed 'Hierarchical structural CoMponent analysis of Gene-Gene Interactions' (HisCoM-GGI) software for gene-gene interaction analysis with a continuous phenotype. The HisCoM-GGI method considers hierarchical structural relationships between genes and SNPs, that enables both gene-level and SNP-level interaction analysis in a single model. Furthermore, this software accepts various type of genomic data, and supports a data management and multithreading to improve the efficiency of GWAS data analysis. We expect that the HisCoM-GGI software provides advanced accessibility to the researchers on the genetic interaction studies and a more effective way to understand biological mechanisms of complex diseases.