Communications of the ACM
Study Maps Human Metabolism in Health and Disease
Researchers have mapped 65 human cell types and half of the body's 2,600 enzymes that are known drug targets.
Credit: Sergey Nivens/Shutterstock
An international team of researchers say they have produced the most complete model of the human metabolic network available. The researchers mapped 65 human cell types and half of the 2,600 enzymes that are known drug targets.
They say the research marks a key step toward personalized medicine, or tailoring treatments to the genetic information of a patient. "By converting our biological knowledge into a mathematical model format, this work provides a freely accessible tool that will offer an in-depth understanding of human metabolism and its key role in many major human diseases," says the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council's Douglas Kell.
The model contains more than 8,000 molecular species and 7,000 chemical reactions. "The results provide a framework that will lead to a better understanding of how an individual’s lifestyle, such as diet, or a particular drug they may require is likely to affect them according to their specific genetic characteristics," notes University of Manchester professor Pedro Mendes.
The Babraham Institute's Nicolas Le Novere says "having large collaborations like these, using open standards and data-sharing resources, is crucial for systems biology."
From University of Manchester
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