Computational approaches to understanding nutrient metabolism and metabolic disorders

Living cells constantly carry out various chemical reactions which are necessary for their proper functioning. These reactions are interlinked to one another via multiple pathways. The collection of these chemical reactions is known as metabolism.
Plant Metabolism
Sunlight, the primary source of energy in plants, is first absorbed by the chlorophyll pigments present in their leaves. Plants then use this energy to carry out photosynthesis, where water is oxidized into oxygen and carbon dioxide...

Metabolism encompasses all biochemical reactions in a living organism, facilitating both the breakdown and synthesis of biomolecules. These metabolic processes are categorized into catabolic and anabolic pathways, which operate in a coordinated manner to ensure energy balance and cellular function.Catabolic Pathways and Energy ReleaseCatabolic pathways involve the breakdown of complex macromolecules such as carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins into smaller structures like monosaccharides, fatty...

Mechanistic models, a category encompassing both physiological and compartmental modeling, differ from empirical models' approaches to incorporating known factors about the systems being modeled. Empirical models describe data with minimal assumptions, while mechanistic models aim to provide a robust description of available data by specifying assumptions and integrating known factors about the system. Compartmental analysis is a key example of a mechanistic model in pharmacokinetics and...

Physiological and compartmental models are valuable tools used in studying biological systems. These models rely on differential equations to maintain mass balance within the system, ensuring an accurate representation of the dynamic processes at play.
Physiological models take a detailed approach by considering specific molecular processes. They can predict drug distribution, metabolism, and elimination changes, providing a comprehensive understanding of how drugs interact with the body.

Compartmental analysis is a widely adopted approach to characterizing drug pharmacokinetics. It uses compartment models that conceptualize the body as a collection of reversibly communicating compartments, each representing a group of tissues exhibiting similar drug distribution characteristics. The movement rate of the drug between these compartments is typically described by first-order kinetics.
Two primary types of compartment models are recognized: mammillary and catenary. The more...

Cellular needs and conditions vary from cell to cell and change within individual cells over time. For example, the required enzymes and energetic demands of stomach cells are different from those of fat storage cells, skin cells, blood cells, and nerve cells. Furthermore, a digestive cell works much harder to process and break down nutrients during the time that closely follows a meal compared with many hours after a meal. As these cellular demands and conditions vary, so do the amounts and...