Mathematical modelling of one pillar of the immune system to tailor therapies
2018
University of California, Riverside, USA
A pivotal arm of innate immunity, the complement system is comprised of proteins present both in the plasma and cell membranes that mediate immune responses against invading pathogens and altered host cells. Although many complement regulators are present to protect host cells under homeostasis, the impairment of the Factor H (FH) regulatory mechanism has been associated with several autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. In the present study, the researchers aimed at developing a comprehensive computational model of the alternative and classical pathways of the complement system. The model was able to recapitulate a normal state, a state with FH impairment and two states representing FH impairment with two different treatments. The study shows time profiles for biomarkers associated with alternative pathway FH disorders, consistent with clinically observed data. These results allow visualizing how patient-tailored therapies are needed depending on the specific FH-mediated disease and the manifestations of a patient’s genetic profile in complement regulatory function.
A computational model for the evaluation of complement system regulation under homeostasis, disease, and drug intervention
Dimitrios Morikis
Added on: 10-27-2021
[1] https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0198644[2] https://data.jrc.ec.europa.eu/dataset/700397b2-edd7-4ed6-86f7-fc1b164ed432
