MetaRelSubNetVis: Referenceable network visualizations based on integrated patient data with group-wise comparison

MotivationNetworks are a common data structure to describe relations among biological entities. Enriched with information to specify the entities or their connections, they provide a solid foundation for data-dependent visualization. When such annotations overlap, for example in a protein-protein interaction network that is enriched with patient-specific expressions, visualization is reliant on user interaction. Thereby, effective and reliable exchange of visualization parameters between collaborators is crucial to the communication within workflows. ResultsHere, we introduce MetaRelSubNetVis, a web-based tool that allows users to interactively apply group-wise visualizations to networks augmented with patient data. Our application can visually reflect patient-specific attributes for single patients or in a comparative context. Furthermore, we improved upon the exchange of network visualizations by providing unambiguous links that result in the same visual markup. Our work provides new prospects in interacting with and collaborating on network data, especially with respect to the exchange and integration of network visualizations. Contactflorian.auer@informatik.uni-augsburg.de