Scientific Papers
Systems Biology
"Achieving confidence in mechanism for drug discovery and development",
Zach Pitluk and Iya G. Khalil, Drug Discovery Today (2007).
An invited paper by Drs. Khalil and Pitluk that establishes GNS
as a thought leader in applying inference technologies to
improve drug discovery. The paper examines crucial gaps in the
knowledge formation process, consequences of the gaps and, how
inference technologies can enable dramatic improvements in the
drug discovery processes from specific projects to portfolio
planning. ( PubMed citation )
"An
integrated approach for inference and mechanistic modeling for advancing
drug development",
Sergej V. Aksenov, Bruce Church, Anjali Dhiman, Anna Georgieva,
Ramesh Sarangapani, Gabriel Helmlinger, Iya G. Khalil, FEBS Letters
(2005).
Computational
biology strategies are a promising approach for systematically capturing
the effect of a given drug on complex molecular networks and on
human physiology. This article discusses a two-pronged strategy
for inferring biological interactions from large-scale multi-omic
measurements and accounting for known biology via mechanistic dynamical
simulations of pathways, cells, and organ- and tissue level models.
"Trading
'wet-work' for network",
V. Periwal and Z. Szallasi, Nature Biotechnology, 20:10 345-346
(2002).
This
paper points out the dire need for communicating between the disparate
communities of scientists involved in systems biology in a manner
that is both precise and jargon-free. It suggests guidelines for
published papers in systems biology: experimental work with explicit
uncertainties, theoretical work with clearly explained assumptions
and approximations, and novel computationally generated hypotheses
verified by experiment.
From
Topology to Dynamics in Biochemical Networks,
J. J. Fox and C. C. Hill, Chaos, 11:4 809-815 (2001).
We
study models of biochemical networks using Boolean networks with
the number of inputs K to each element given by one of three distributions:
delta function, Poisson, and power law (scale-free). We show that
finite, scale-free networks are more ordered than the other two
distributions, suggesting that the topology of scale-free biochemical
networks may provide a source of order in living cells.
Diagrammatic
Notation and Computational Grammar for Gene Networks,
R. Maimon and S. Browning (published in the proceedings of the
The Second International Conference on Systems Biology, Pasadena, CA, 311-317 (2001)
This
paper introduces a concise, modular, and mathematically precise
visual notation for the representation of biochemical networks.
This language can be used to create an unambiguous diagram of a
given network such that the diagram can be directly translated into
a mathematical simulation of the system.
Towards
the Development of a Minimal Cell Model by Generalization of a Model
of Escherichia coli: Use of Dimensionless Rate Parameters,
S.Browning, M. Shuler, Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 76 187-192
(2001).
This
paper establishes the concept of a minimal cell model, based on
an earlier model of Escherichia coli, and describes its potential
uses. Dimensionless rate parameters are used to generalize the rate
parameters specific to the E. coli model, and experimental data
from a variety of bacteria are used to justify this scaling.
Birhythmicity,
Trirhythmicity and Chaos in Bursting Calcium Oscillations,
T. Haberitcher, M. Marhl, R. Heinrich, Biophysical Chemistry
90 17-30 (2001).
Various
patterns of oscillatory behavior of a mathematical model for calcium
dynamics are analyzed, with emphasis on multirhythmic and chaotic
bursting modes. The former appear through saddle-node-of-periodics
bifurcations, the latter through two different routes to chaos:
period doubling cascades and intermittency.
Complex
Calcium Oscillations and the Role of Mitochondria and Cytosolic
Proteins,
M. Marhl, T. Haberitcher, M. Brumen, R. Heinrich, BioSystems
57 75-86 (2000).
A
new possible mechanism for complex calcium oscillations based on
the interplay between three calcium stores in the cell is developed:
the endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria and cytosolic proteins.
Depending on the permeability of the ER channels and on the kinetic
properties of calcium binding to the cytosolic proteins, different
patterns of complex calcium oscillations, such as multirhythmicity,
bursting and chaos appear.
Transition
to Chaos in Models of Genetic Networks,
C.C. Hill, B.K. Sawhill, S. Kauffman, and L. Glass, Proceedings
of the XV Sitges Euroconference "Statistical Mechanics of Biocomplexity"
(eds. M Vilar and M. Rubi) Springer-Verlag (1999).
Nonlinear
Dynamics of Gene and Neural Networks,
L. Glass, C. Hill, T. Mestl, Proceedings of Indian National Science
Academy, "Nonlinear Phenomena in Physical
and Biological Systems", (eds. S. K. Malik and N. Pradhan)
(1999).
Ordered
and Disordered Dynamics in Random Networks,
L. Glass and C. Hill, Europhys. Letts. 41 599-604 (1998).
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Cancer
A systems biology dynamical model of mammalian G1 cell cycle progression,
Thomas Haberichter, Britta Mädge, Renee A Christopher,
Naohisa Yoshioka, Anjali Dhiman, Robert Miller, Rina Gendelman,
Sergej V Aksenov, Iya G Khalil and Steven F Dowdy,
Molecular Systems Biology 3:84 (Feb. 2007).
We developed a mathematical model of G1 progression using
physiological expression and activity profiles from
synchronized cells exposed to constant growth factors and
included a metabolically responsive, activating modifier of
cyclin E:Cdk2. Our mathematical model accurately simulates G1
progression, recapitulates observations from targeted gene
deletion studies and serves as a foundation for development of
therapeutics targeting G1 cell-cycle progression.
Individualised cancer therapeutics: dream or reality?,
Neil Senzer, Yuqiao Shen, Colin Hill & John Nemunaitis,
Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Targets. 9 (6): 1189-1201 (Dec. 2005).
This review focuses on the concept of designing individualised
therapeutics based on genomic and proteomic profile of
malignant tissue. Genetic and epigenetic perturbations in
signal pathways drive cancer growth, survival, invasion and
metastatic spread. The burgeoning evidence which supports the
concept that each patientís cancer has a unique
complement of pathogenic genetic and molecular derangements is
reviewed. Such evidence supports the strategy of individualised
selection of a therapeutic complex from a menu of targeting
options that best complements the specific oncomolecular
profile of the 'tumourñhost' system.
Systems
biology for cancer.,
Khalil, I G, Hill, C, Current Opinion in Oncology. 17(1):44-48
(2005).
Significant
insight can be gained into complex biologic mechanisms of cancer
via a combined computational and experimental systems biology approach.
This review highlights some of the major systems biology efforts
that were applied to cancer in the past year.
Data-Driven
Computer Simulation of Human Cancer Cell,
R. Christopher,A. Dhiman, J. Fox, R. Gendelman, T. Haberitcher,
D. Kagle, G. Spizz, I. G. Khalil and C. Hill, Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci.
1020: 132-153 (2004).
Using
the Diagrammatic Cell Language™, Gene Network Sciences (GNS)
has created a network model of interconnected signal transduction
pathways and gene expression networks that control human cell proliferation
and apoptosis. Using the cell simulation, GNS tested the efficacy
of various drug targets and performed validation experiments to
test computer simulation predictions.
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Cardiovascular
Dynamic
mechanism for conduction block in heart tissue,
J. Fox, M. Riccio, P. Drury, A. Werthman, R. Gilmour, New J.
Phys. 5 (July 2003) 101
Previous
work has shown that dynamic heterogeneity and conduction block can
occur in homogeneous heart fibres during prolonged pacing at rapid
rates. Here we investigated the mechanism for conduction block following
the delivery of one to four premature stimuli using a coupled maps
computer model of a one-dimensional canine heart fibre.
The
influence of different InsP3 receptor isoforms on Ca2+ signalling
in tracheal smooth muscle cells,
T. Haberichter, M. Marhl, E. Roux, J.-P. Mazat, Bioelectrochemistry
57/2 129-138 (2002).
A
possible impact of the different gating kinetics of different inositol
triphosphate receptor subtypes on the time course of cytosolic Ca(2+)
concentration in rat tracheal smooth muscle cells upon agonist stimulation
is studied. Response modes such as single spikes, several spikes
with declining maxima, and sustained oscillations upon gradually
increased stimulation with acetylcholine are explained.
Ionic
Mechanism of Electrical Alternans,
J. Fox, J. McHarg, and R. Gilmour, Am J Physiol:Heart Circ Physiol
282:H516-H530 (2002).
Although
alternans of action potential duration (APD) is a robust feature
of the rapidly paced canine ventricle, currently available ionic
models of cardiac myocytes do not recreate this phenomenon. To address
this problem, we developed a new ionic model using formulations
of currents based on previous models and recent experimental data.
Spatiotemporal
Transition to Conduction Block in Canine Ventricle,
J. Fox, M. Ruccio, F. Hua, E. Bodenschatz, R. Gilmour, Circ Res.
2002;90:289-296.
Interruption
of periodic wave propagation by the nucleation and subsequent disintegration
of spiral waves is thought to mediate the transition from normal
sinus rhythm to ventricular fibrillation. This sequence of events
may be precipitated by a period doubling bifuration, manifest as
a beat-to-beat alternation, or alternans, of cardiac action potential
duration and conduction velocity. How alternans causes the local
conduction block required for initiation of spiral wave reentry
remains unclear, however. In the present study, a mechanism for
conduction block was derived from experimental studies in linear
strands of cardiac tissue and from computer simulations in ionic
and coupled maps models of homogeneous one-dimensional fibers.
Period-Doubling
Instability and Memory in Cardiac Tissue,
J. Fox, E. Bodenschatz, and R. Gilmour, Phys Rev Lett 89.138101
(2002)
Theoretical
studies have indicated that alternans of action potential duration
is associated with a restitution relation with a slope >= 1.
However, recent experimental findings suggest that the slope of
the restitution relation is not necessarily predictive of alternans.
Here, we compared a return map memory model to action potential
data from an ionic model and found that the memory model reproduced
dynamics that could not be explained by a unidimensional restitution
relation.
Conduction
Block in One-Dimensional Heart Fibers,
J. Fox, R. Gilmour, and E. Bodenschatz, Phys Rev Lett 89.198101
(2002)
We
present a nonlinear dynamical systems analysis of the transition
to conduction block in one-dimensional cardiac fibers. We study
a simple model of wave propagation in heart tissue that depends
only on the recovery of action potential duration and conduction
velocity.
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