| Metabolic Network Reconstruction And Simulation |
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Information AboutMetabolic Network Reconstruction And Simulation |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT METABOLIC NETWORK MODELLING | |
| bioengineering | |
| biomedical engineering | |
| systems biology | |
| bioinformatics | |
| genomics | |
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Metabolic network reconstruction and simulation allows for an in depth insight into comprehending the molecular mechanisms of a particular organism, especially correlating the (a number that represents the catalytic function of the enzyme of interest) in order to find the associated Gene (Francke ''et al.'' 2005). BEGINNING STEPS OF A RECONSTRUCTION Resources Below is more detailed description of a few gene/enzyme/reaction/pathway databases that are crucial to a metabolic reconstruction:
NEXT STEPS OF THE RECONSTRUCTION After the initial stages of the reconstruction, a systematic verification is made in order to make sure no inconsistencies are present and that all the entries listed are correct and accurate (Francke ''et al.'' 2005). Furthermore, previous literature can be researched in order to support any information obtained from one of the many metabolic reaction and genome databases. This provides an added level of assurance for the reconstruction that the enzyme and the reaction it catalyzes do actually occur in the organism. Any new reactions not present in the databases need to be added to the reconstruction. The presence or absence of certain reactions of the metabolism will affect the amount of Reactants /products that are present for other reactions within the particular pathway. This is because products in one reaction go on to become the reactants for another reaction, i.e. products of one reaction can combine with other proteins or compounds to form new proteins/compounds in the presence of different enzymes or Catalysts (Francke ''et al.'' 2005). Francke ''et al.'' (2005) provide an excellent example as to why the verification step of the project needs to be performed in significant detail. During a metabolic network reconstruction of '' Lactobacillus Plantarum '', the model showed that Succinyl-CoA was one of the reactants for a reaction that was a part of the biosynthesis of Methionine . However, an understanding of the physiology of the organism would have revealed that due to an incomplete tricarboxylic acid pathway, ''Lactobacillus plantarum'' does not actually produce succinyl-CoA, and the correct reactant for that part of the reaction was Acetyl-CoA . Therefore, systematic verification of the initial reconstruction will bring to light several inconsistencies that can adversely affect the final interpretation of the reconstruction, which is to accurately comprehend the molecular mechanisms of the organism. Furthermore, the Simulation step also ensures that all the reactions present in the reconstruction are properly balanced. To sum up, a reconstruction that is fully accurate can lead to greater insight about understanding the functioning of the organism of interest (Francke ''et al.'' 2005). ADVANTAGES OF A RECONSTRUCTION
METABOLIC NETWORK SIMULATION A metabolic network can be broken down into a stoichiometric matrix where the rows represent the compounds of the reactions, while the columns of the matrix correspond to the reactions themselves. Stoichiometry is a quantitative relationship between Substrate s of a chemical reaction (Merriam 2002). In order to deduce what the metabolic network suggests, recent research has centered on two approaches; namely Extreme Pathways and Elementary Mode Analysis (Papin, Stelling, Price, Klamt, Schuster, and Palsson 2004). Extreme Pathways Price, Reed, Papin, Wiback and Palsson (2003) use a method of singular value decomposition (SVD) of extreme pathways in order to understand regulation of a human Red Blood Cell metabolism. Extreme pathways are convex Basis Vectors that consist of Steady State functions of a metabolic network (Papin, Price, and Palsson 2002). For any particular metabolic network, there is always a unique set of extreme pathways available (Papin ''et al.'' 2004). Furthermore, Price ''et al.'' (2003) define a Constraint-based Approach , where through the help of Constraint s like Mass Balance and maximum Reaction Rates , it is possible to develop a ‘solution space’ where all the feasible options fall within. Then, using a kinetic model approach, a single solution that falls within the extreme pathway solution space can be determined (Price ''et al.'' 2003). Therefore, in their study, Price ''et al.'' (2003) use both constraint and Kinetic approaches to understand the human red blood cell metabolism. In conclusion, using extreme pathways, the regulatory mechanisms of a metabolic network can be studied in further detail. Elementary mode analysis Elementary mode analysis closely matches the approach used by extreme pathways. Similar to extreme pathways, there is always a unique set of elementary modes available for a particular metabolic network (Papin ''et al.'' 2004). These are the smallest sub-networks that allow a metabolic reconstruction network to function in steady state (Schuster, Fell, and Dandekar 2000; Shelling, Klamt, Bettenbrock, Schuster, and Gilles 2002). According to Shelling ''et al.'' (2002), elementary modes can be used to understand cellular objectives for the overall metabolic network. Furthermore, elementary mode analysis takes into account Stoichiometrics and Thermodynamics when evaluating whether a particular metabolic route or network is feasible and likely for a set of proteins/enzymes (Schuster ''et al.'' 2000). Flux balance analysis A different technique to simulate the metabolic network is to perform Flux Balance Analysis . This method uses linear programming, but in contrast to elementary mode analysis and extreme pathways, only a single solution results in the end. Linear programming is usually used to obtain the maximum potential of the objective function that you are looking at, and therefore, when using flux balance analysis, a single solution is found to the optimization problem (Shelling ''et al.'' 2002). In a flux balance analysis approach, exchange Fluxes are assigned to those metabolites that enter or leave the particular network only. Those metabolites that are consumed within the network are not assigned any exchange flux value. Also, the exchange fluxes along with the enzymes can have constraints ranging from a negative to positive value (ex: -10 to 10). Furthermore, this particular approach can accurately define if the reaction stiochiometry is in line with predictions by providing fluxes for the balanced reactions. Also, flux balance analysis can highlight the most effective and efficient pathway through the network in order to achieve a particular objective function. In addition, Gene Knockout studies can be performed using flux balance analysis. The enzyme that correlates to the gene that needs to be removed is giving a constraint value of 0. Then, the reaction that the particular enzyme catalyzes is completely removed from the analysis. CONCLUSION In conclusion, metabolic network reconstruction and simulation can be effectively used to understand how an organism or parasite functions inside of the host cell. For example, if the parasite serves to compromise the Immune System by lysing Macrophages , then the goal of metabolic reconstruction/simulation would be to determine the metabolites that are essential to the organism's Proliferation inside of macrophages. If the proliferation cycle is inhibited, then the parasite would not continue to evade the host's immune system. A reconstruction model serves as a first step to deciphering the complicated mechanisms surrounding disease. The next step would be to use the predictions and postulates generated from a reconstruction model and apply it to Drug Delivery and Drug-engineering techniques. Currently, many tropical diseases affecting third world nations are very inadequately characterized, and thus poorly understood. Therefore, a metabolic reconstruction and simulation of the parasites that cause the tropical diseases would aid in developing new and innovative cures and treatments. SEE ALSO
REFERENCES #Francke, C., Siezen, R. J. and Teusink, B. (2005). Reconstructing the metabolic network of a bacterium from its genome. Trends in Microbiology. 13(11): 550-558. #Merriam Webster's Medical Dictionary. (2002). http://dictionary.reference.com/medical/ #Papin, J.A., Price, N.D., and Palsson, B.O. (2002). Extreme Pathway Lengths and Reaction Participation in Genome-Scale Metabolic Networks. Genome Research. 12: 1889-1900. #Papin, J.A., Stelling, J., Price, N.D., Klamt, S., Schuster, S., and Palsson, B.O. (2004). Comparison of network-based pathway analysis methods. Trends in Microbiology. 22(8): 400-405. #Price, N.D., Reed, J.L., Papin, J.A., Wiback, S.J., and Palsson, B.O. (2003). Network-based analysis of metabolic regulation in the human red blood cell. Journal of Theoretical Biology. 225: 185-194. #Schuster, S., Fell, D.A. and Dandekar, T. (2000). A general definition of metabolic pathways useful for systematic organization and analysis of complex metabolic networks. Nature Biotechnology. 18: 326-332. #SRI International. (2005). Pathway Tools Information Site. http://bioinformatics.ai.sri.com/ptools/ #Stelling, J., Klamt, S., Bettenbrock, K., Schuster, S. and Gilles, E.D. (2002). Metabolic network structure determines key aspects of functionality and regulation. Nature. 420: 190-193. EXTERNAL LINKS
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