Analytic methods are continuing to be developed and applied using the GELLAB-II software system - an exploratory data analysis system for the analysis of sets of 2D electrophoretic gel images. It incorporates sophisticated subsystems for image acquisition, processing, database manipulation, graphics and statistical analysis. It has been applied to a variety of experimental systems in which quantitative and qualitative changes in one or more proteins among hundreds or thousands of unaltered proteins is the basic analytic problem. Keeping track of changes detected using these methods is also a major attribute of the system. A composite gel database may be """"""""viewed"""""""" under different exploratory data analysis conditions and statistical differences and subtle patterns elucidated from """"""""slices"""""""" of an effectively 3D database. Results can be presented in a variety of tables, plots or derived images. It runs on UNIX workstations and the CONVEX supercomputer using X-windows for portable interactive graphics. Recently, remote collaborative multimedia image-conferencing has been added to GELLAB-II with possible use in other fields of research. Substantive applications include: assess stability of long term tumor cell lines (Alley); 2D DNA gels for identifying differentially expressed genes (Rogan and Strathern); cadmium toxicity in urine (Myrick); analyzing sets of lymphocyte gels and long term cell lines from human hematological malignancies to identify potential marker proteins for possible microsequencing (Lester); cerebral endothelial cell morphology control (Bauer and Amberger); transcription control in prostrate cell lines (Getzenberg). GELLAB-II has been exported to the U. of Zurich (Sonderegger and Hale), CDC/Atlanta (Myrick), U. Norway (Krekling) . Additional changes to help continued collaboration and exporting of enhanced versions of GELLAB has been actively pursued.
