Linking to the IUPHAR/BPS Guide to PHARMACOLOGY

Overview

This page provides information on how to link to database pages on the IUPHAR/BPS Guide to PHARMACOLOGY (GtoPdb) and is aimed at authors needing to add links from journal articles, and also database developers wishing to map lists of entities to entries in GtoPdb.

Information for authors

In general, when citing database pages please include links to the relevant pages. Citation information and URLs can usually be found towards the bottom of database pages. Read more about citing GtoPdb

Links from the British Journal of Pharmacology

The BJP has recently piloted the inclusion of tables of links in journal articles for the main ligand and target entities to corresponding entries in GtoPdb. From 2015 authors will be required to provide this information at the time of article submission. This pages includes some information to help with searching and adding links to database entries. The sections below describe how the URLs for different types of pages (families, targets, ligands) are constructed and how to capture identifiers.

Useful resources:

  • The help page contain descriptions of the data and how to search the database. The FAQ also contains further background information.
  • The tutorial PDF contains screenshots demonstrating the key features of database pages and search tools.
  • This blog post gives an introduction to how to resolve bioactive ligands and targets from literature to standardised molecular identifiers used in databases such as GtoPdb.

Below is a short video of Professor Ian McGrath, Editor-in-Chief of BJP, discussing the background and benefits of links to GtoPdb.

Linking to the home page

Please use the following URL to link to the IUPHAR/BPS Guide to PHARMACOLOGY home page:

Linking to family pages

Each family has an identifier associated with it. This can be obtained from the family URL which should appear something like this:

  • https://www.guidetopharmacology.org/GRAC/FamilyDisplayForward?familyId=family_id

For example: the "Adenosine receptors" family page can be accessed by the following URL using its family_id (3)

Linking to target pages

Individual targets (i.e. receptors, channels, enzymes, subunits) have unique identifiers associated with them. These are displayed next to the nomenclature information on target pages and in the target sections of family pages.

The URL for more detailed target pages also includes the identifier, which should appear something like this:

  • https://www.guidetopharmacology.org/GRAC/ObjectDisplayForward?objectId=object_id

Or this, where the family_id and target type are also optionally included:

  • https://www.guidetopharmacology.org/GRAC/ObjectDisplayForward?objectId=object_id&familyId=family_id&familyType=family_type

For example: the "Adenosine A1 receptor" page can be accessed by the following URL using its object_id (18):

Links to targets which do not have detailed pages can also use the same format; these will redirect to the relevant target section on the concise family page.

Linking to ligand pages

Individual ligands also have unique identifiers. These are displayed near the top of ligand pages. URLs for ligand pages can be constructed using the following format:

  • https://www.guidetopharmacology.org/GRAC/LigandDisplayForward?ligandId=ligand_id

For example: the ligand "conivaptan" can be accessed by the following URL using its ligand_id (2203):

Download mapping files

Download files mapping IUPHAR/BPS Guide to PHARMACOLOGY targets (e.g. receptors, channel subunits, enzymes) to HGNC gene IDs and symbols or UniProt accessions.

For a full list of files available see our Downloads page.