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 explaining missing heritability. Many previous studies have already proposed software to analyze GGI, but most methods focus on a binary phenotype in a case-control design. In this study, we developed “Hierarchical structural CoMponent analysis of Gene-Gene Interactions” (HisCoM-GGI) software for GGI analysis with a continuous phenotype. The HisCoM-GGI method considers hierarchical structural relationships between genes and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), enabling both gene-level and SNP-level interaction analysis in a single model. Furthermore, this software accepts various types of genomic data and supports data management and multithreading to improve the efficiency of genome-wide association study data analysis. We expect that HisCoM-GGI software will provide advanced accessibility to researchers in genetic interaction studies and a more effective way to understand biological mechanisms of complex diseases.