SPINNAKER: an R-based tool to highlight key RNA interactions in complex biological networks

Background: Recently, we developed a mathematical model for identifying putative competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) interactions. This methodology has aroused a broad acknowledgment within the scientific community thanks to the encouraging results achieved when applied to breast invasive carcinoma, leading to the identification of PVT1, a long non-coding RNA functioning as ceRNA for the miR-200 family. The main shortcoming of the model is that it is no freely available and implemented in MATLAB (R), a proprietary programming platform requiring a paid license for installing, operating, manipulating, and running the software.