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Updated: Jun 8, 2026

Assessment of Open Probability of the Mitochondrial Permeability Transition Pore in the Setting of Coenzyme Q Excess
Published on: June 1, 2022
Stability of open pathways
Edward H Flach1, Santiago Schnell
1Integrated Mathematical Oncology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Centre and Research Institute, Tampa, FL, USA. edward.flach@gmail.com
Simple open biochemical pathways, including chains, branches, and loops, consistently exhibit stable steady states. This finding supports the reliability of analyzing these systems, unlike previously observed unstable enzyme-catalyzed reactions.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Systems Biology
- Mathematical Biology
Background:
- Previously, the steady state of open enzyme-catalyzed reactions was shown to be potentially unstable.
- This instability discourages the use of the quasi-steady-state approximation (QSSA) in certain biochemical pathway analyses.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the stability of steady states in basic open biochemical pathway structures.
- To determine if simple pathway configurations inherently possess stable steady states.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the Gershgorin circle theorem for stability assessment.
- Employed a linear stability matrix derived from pathway structures.
- Followed established mathematical approaches for biochemical system analysis.
Main Results:
- Analysis revealed that simple open biochemical pathways, including chains, branches, and loops, consistently demonstrate stable steady states.
- The Gershgorin circle theorem provided an elegant and straightforward method for stability assessment.
Conclusions:
- Simple open biochemical pathways are inherently stable.
- The stability of these basic structures contrasts with potential instabilities in more complex enzyme-catalyzed reactions, validating their analysis.
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