Modelization and experimental studies on the control of the glycolytic-glycogenolytic pathway in rat liver

In this paper we construct a model of the glycolytic-glycogenolytic converging pathway in rat liver, by integrating experimental data obtained in an in vitro system and information available from the literature. The model takes the mathematical expression of an S-system representation within the power law formalism (Savageau, 1976. Biochemical System Analysis: A study of function and design in Molecular Biology. Addison-Wesley, Reading, Mass.). By using this theoretical framework a model analysis was carried out that allowed us a) the assessment of the quality of the model in terms of its consistency and robustness, b) the steady state analysis and control characterization of the system, and c) the study of the dynamics of the system after changes in the level of two magnitudes of biological significance: the glucose concentration and the phosphofructokinase enzyme activity. Model predictions are compared with experimental measurements referred to Logarithmic Gains through fluxes and substrates concentrations showing that there is a good correlation between the model predictions and the experimentally determined values.