# HIHISIV: a database of gene expression in HIV and SIV host immune response

## TL;DR

The HIHISIV database helps researchers study gene expression in HIV and SIV infections by providing curated transcriptional data and analysis tools.

## Contribution

HIHISIV introduces a curated relational database integrating gene expression data from HIV and SIV infections in humans and nonhuman primates.

## Key findings

- The database includes microarray and RNA-Seq data curated for host immune responses to HIV and SIV.
- Six query templates allow researchers to analyze and download data for robust transcriptome studies.
- HIHISIV provides a platform for visualizing and exploring gene expression differences in viral infections.

## Abstract

In the battle of the host against lentiviral pathogenesis, the immune response is crucial. However, several questions remain unanswered about the interaction with different viruses and their influence on disease progression. The simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infecting nonhuman primates (NHP) is widely used as a model for the study of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) both because they are evolutionarily linked and because they share physiological and anatomical similarities that are largely explored to understand the disease progression. The HIHISIV database was developed to support researchers to integrate and evaluate the large number of transcriptional data associated with the presence/absence of the pathogen (SIV or HIV) and the host response (NHP and human). The datasets are composed of microarray and RNA-Seq gene expression data that were selected, curated, analyzed, enriched, and stored in a relational database. Six query templates comprise the main data analysis functions and the resulting information can be downloaded. The HIHISIV database, available at https://hihisiv.github.io, provides accurate resources for browsing and visualizing results and for more robust analyses of pre-existing data in transcriptome repositories.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12859-024-05740-7.