Orton Richard J, Sturm Oliver E, Vyshemirsky Vladislav, Calder Muffy, Gilbert David R, Kolch Walter
Bioinformatics Research Centre, Department of Computing Science, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, Scotland, UK.
Biochem J. 2005 Dec 1;392(Pt 2):249-61. doi: 10.1042/BJ20050908.
The MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase) pathway is one of the most important and intensively studied signalling pathways. It is at the heart of a molecular-signalling network that governs the growth, proliferation, differentiation and survival of many, if not all, cell types. It is de-regulated in various diseases, ranging from cancer to immunological, inflammatory and degenerative syndromes, and thus represents an important drug target. Over recent years, the computational or mathematical modelling of biological systems has become increasingly valuable, and there is now a wide variety of mathematical models of the MAPK pathway which have led to some novel insights and predictions as to how this system functions. In the present review we give an overview of the processes involved in modelling a biological system using the popular approach of ordinary differential equations. Focusing on the MAPK pathway, we introduce the features and functions of the pathway itself before comparing the available models and describing what new biological insights they have led to.
丝裂原活化蛋白激酶（MAPK）信号通路是最重要且研究最深入的信号通路之一。它处于一个分子信号网络的核心位置，该网络控制着许多（即便不是所有）细胞类型的生长、增殖、分化和存活。在从癌症到免疫、炎症和退行性综合征等各种疾病中，它都发生了失调，因此是一个重要的药物靶点。近年来，生物系统的计算或数学建模变得越来越有价值，现在有各种各样的MAPK信号通路数学模型，这些模型对该系统的功能产生了一些新颖的见解和预测。在本综述中，我们概述了使用常微分方程这种流行方法对生物系统进行建模所涉及的过程。以MAPK信号通路为重点，我们先介绍该信号通路本身的特征和功能，然后比较现有的模型，并描述它们带来了哪些新的生物学见解。
