IMGT®, the international ImMunoGeneTics information system® 25 years on

Nucleic Acids Res. 2015 Jan;43(Database issue):D413-22. doi: 10.1093/nar/gku1056. Epub 2014 Nov 5.

Abstract

IMGT(®), the international ImMunoGeneTics information system(®)(http://www.imgt.org) is the global reference in immunogenetics and immunoinformatics. By its creation in 1989 by Marie-Paule Lefranc (Université de Montpellier and CNRS), IMGT(®) marked the advent of immunoinformatics, which emerged at the interface between immunogenetics and bioinformatics. IMGT(®) is specialized in the immunoglobulins (IG) or antibodies, T cell receptors (TR), major histocompatibility (MH) and proteins of the IgSF and MhSF superfamilies. IMGT(®) is built on the IMGT-ONTOLOGY axioms and concepts, which bridged the gap between genes, sequences and 3D structures. The concepts include the IMGT(®) standardized keywords (identification), IMGT(®) standardized labels (description), IMGT(®) standardized nomenclature (classification), IMGT unique numbering and IMGT Colliers de Perles (numerotation). IMGT(®) comprises 7 databases, 17 online tools and 15,000 pages of web resources, and provides a high-quality and integrated system for analysis of the genomic and expressed IG and TR repertoire of the adaptive immune responses, including NGS high-throughput data. Tools and databases are used in basic, veterinary and medical research, in clinical applications (mutation analysis in leukemia and lymphoma) and in antibody engineering and humanization. The IMGT/mAb-DB interface was developed for therapeutic antibodies and fusion proteins for immunological applications (FPIA). IMGT(®) is freely available at http://www.imgt.org.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Alleles
  • Animals
  • Biological Ontologies
  • Computational Biology
  • Databases, Genetic*
  • Genes, Immunoglobulin*
  • Genes, T-Cell Receptor*
  • Histocompatibility Antigens / chemistry*
  • Histocompatibility Antigens / genetics
  • Humans
  • Immunogenetics
  • Immunoglobulins / chemistry*
  • Immunoglobulins / genetics
  • Immunoglobulins / metabolism
  • Internet
  • Major Histocompatibility Complex*
  • Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / chemistry*
  • Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / genetics
  • Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / metabolism
  • Software

Substances

  • Histocompatibility Antigens
  • Immunoglobulins
  • Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell