Reproducible model development in the cardiac electrophysiology Web Lab

Area of Science:

• Systems Biology
• Computational Biology
• Cardiac Electrophysiology

Background:

• Cardiac cell electrophysiology modeling is a mature field in systems biology.
• Selecting appropriate models for specific scientific questions is challenging.
• Existing resources lack comprehensive model characterization and comparison tools.

Purpose of the Study:

• To extend the Cardiac Electrophysiology Web Lab with new features.
• To support the process of building cardiac cell models from experimental data.
• To facilitate reproducible development of cardiac cell models.

Main Methods:

• Developed a novel protocol language to separate mathematical models from experimental protocols.
• Created an open online repository (Cardiac Electrophysiology Web Lab) for model comparison.
• Outlined a machine-readable language for inferring parameters from experimental data.

Main Results:

• The Cardiac Electrophysiology Web Lab allows users to store and compare simulation results from different models.
• Demonstrated a method for fitting a hERG channel model using experimental data.
• Proposed a machine-readable language for parameter inference.

Conclusions:

• The extended Cardiac Electrophysiology Web Lab aids in model selection and building.
• Further development is needed for a fully reproducible approach to cardiac cell model development.
• Machine-readable languages are crucial for integrating experimental data into model development.