Homeostasis imbalance process ontology: a study on COVID-19 infectious processes

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Informatics
• Systems Biology
• Ontology Engineering

Background:

• Understanding COVID-19's complex infectious mechanisms and diverse symptoms remains a significant challenge.
• A consistent framework is urgently needed to capture the intricacies of viral processes and clinical manifestations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematize COVID-19 infectious processes using an ontological approach.
• To provide a unified description framework for causal relationships in COVID-19 infection.
• To support drug development and identify patients at severe risk.

Main Methods:

• Developed the Homeostasis Imbalance Process (HoIP) ontology.
• Applied ontological reasoning to analyze COVID-19 infection pathways.
• Distinguished viral demands from immune responses within the HoIP framework.

Main Results:

• Systematized COVID-19 infectious processes from initial infection to severe disease.
• Provided a unified description of causal relationships based on homeostasis imbalance.
• Enabled differentiation between viral functional demands and immune defense processes.
• Demonstrated the utility of ontological reasoning in identifying high-risk patients.

Conclusions:

• The HoIP ontology organizes knowledge of COVID-19 processes, molecules, drugs, and symptoms.
• HoIP offers a consistent descriptive framework for heterogeneous biological processes.
• Expected to enhance interoperability of COVID-19 knowledge through collaborative efforts.