Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, Birkbeck College, University of London, , Malet Street, London WC1E 7HX, UK.
Philos Trans A Math Phys Eng Sci. 2010 Jun 13;368(1920):2799-815. doi: 10.1098/rsta.2010.0067.
The ultimate aim of the EU-funded ImmunoGrid project is to develop a natural-scale model of the human immune system-that is, one that reflects both the diversity and the relative proportions of the molecules and cells that comprise it-together with the grid infrastructure necessary to apply this model to specific applications in the field of immunology. These objectives present the ImmunoGrid Consortium with formidable challenges in terms of complexity of the immune system, our partial understanding about how the immune system works, the lack of reliable data and the scale of computational resources required. In this paper, we explain the key challenges and the approaches adopted to overcome them. We also consider wider implications for the present ambitious plans to develop natural-scale, integrated models of the human body that can make contributions to personalized health care, such as the European Virtual Physiological Human initiative. Finally, we ask a key question: How long will it take us to resolve these challenges and when can we expect to have fully functional models that will deliver health-care benefits in the form of personalized care solutions and improved disease prevention?
欧盟资助的 ImmunoGrid 项目的最终目标是开发一个人类免疫系统的自然规模模型，即反映构成它的分子和细胞的多样性和相对比例的模型，以及将该模型应用于免疫学领域特定应用所需的网格基础设施。这些目标在免疫系统的复杂性、我们对免疫系统工作方式的部分理解、缺乏可靠数据以及所需的计算资源规模方面，给 ImmunoGrid 联盟带来了巨大的挑战。在本文中，我们解释了关键挑战以及为克服这些挑战而采用的方法。我们还考虑了目前开发能够为个性化医疗保健做出贡献的人体自然规模综合模型的雄心勃勃计划的更广泛影响，例如欧洲虚拟生理人倡议。最后，我们提出了一个关键问题：我们需要多长时间才能解决这些挑战，以及我们何时才能期望拥有功能齐全的模型，以提供个性化护理解决方案和改善疾病预防的形式带来医疗保健效益？
