ZDOG

ZDOG visualizes and analyzes the positional importance of somatic mutations within signaling pathways using the dominator tree model to assess their impact on cancer pathway organization.

Key Features:

• Dominator Tree Model: Employs the dominator tree model to represent signaling pathways and reveal how mutated genes control downstream network components.
• Identification of Master Regulators: Leverages positional information to identify candidate "master" regulators that have central regulatory roles despite low mutation frequency.
• Cytoscape Integration: Implements analysis and visualization as a Cytoscape app to perform network-based pathway analysis within the Cytoscape environment.

Scientific Applications:

• Cancer Pathway Analysis: Analyzes how somatic mutations alter signaling pathway structure and influence downstream components in cancer.
• Driver and Regulator Prioritization: Prioritizes candidate cancer-causing genes and master regulators for downstream functional studies and consideration as therapeutic targets.

Methodology:

Uses the dominator tree model to visualize and analyze positional importance of mutated genes within signaling pathways and is implemented as a Cytoscape app.