Reproductive chemical database: a curated database of chemicals that modulate protein targets regulating important reproductive biological processes

Abstract

Recent studies have shifted the spotlight from adult disease to gametogenesis and embryo developmental events, and these are greatly affected by various environmental chemicals, such as drugs, metabolites, pollutants, and others. Growing research has highlighted the critical importance of identifying and understanding the roles of chemicals in reproductive biology. However, the functions and mechanisms of chemicals in reproductive processes remain incomplete. We developed a comprehensive database called the Reproductive Chemical Database (RCDB) (https://yu.life.sjtu.edu.cn/ChenLab/RCDB) to facilitate research on chemicals in reproductive biology. This resource is founded on rigorous manual literature extraction and precise protein target prediction methodologies. This database focuses on the delineation of chemicals associated with phenotypes, diseases, or endpoints intricately associated with four important reproductive processes: female and male gamete generation, fertilization, and embryo development in human and mouse. The RCDB encompasses 93 sub-GO processes, and it revealed 1447 intricate chemical–biological process interactions. To date, the RCDB has meticulously cataloged and annotated 830 distinct chemicals, while also predicting 614 target proteins from a selection of 3800 potential candidates. Additionally, the RCDB offers an online predictive tool that empowers researchers to ascertain whether specific chemicals play discernible functional roles in these reproductive processes. The RCDB is an exhaustive, cross-platform, manually curated database, which provides a user-friendly interface to search, browse, and use reproductive processes modulators and their comprehensive related information. The RCDB will help researchers to understand the whole reproductive process and related diseases and it has the potential to promote reproduction research in the pharmacological and pathophysiological areas. Graphical Abstract