Target identification aims at identifying biomolecules whose the function should be therapeutically modified to cure the considered pathology. An algorithm for in silico target identification using boolean network attractors is proposed. It assumes that the attractors of a boolean network correspond to the phenotypes produced by the modeled biological network. It identifies target combinations which allow disturbed biological networks to avoid attractors responsible for pathological phenotypes. The algorithm is tested on a boolean model of the mammalian cell cycle where the retinoblastoma protein is inactivated, as seen in diseases such as cancer. It returns target combinations able to remove attractors responsible for pathological phenotypes. The results show that the algorithm succeeds in performing the proposed in silico target identification. However, as with any in silico evidence, there is a bridge to cross between theory and practice. Nevertheless, it is expected that the algorithm is of interest for target identification.
Target identification aims at identifying biomolecules whose function should be therapeutically modified to cure the considered pathology. An algorithm for in silico target identification using boolean network attractors is proposed. It assumes that boolean network attractors correspond to the phenotypes produced by the modeled biological network. It identifies target combinations which allow disturbed biological networks to avoid attractors responsible for pathological phenotypes. The algorithm is tested on a boolean model of the mammalian cell cycle where retinoblastoma protein is inactivated, as seen in diseases such as cancer. It returns target combinations able to remove attractors responsible for pathological phenotypes. Results show that the algorithm succeeds in performing the proposed in silico target identification. However, as with any in silico evidence, there is a bridge to cross between theory and practice. Nevertheless, it is expected that the algorithm is of interest for target identification.
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the attractors of a boolean network
boolean network attractors
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The results
Results