TITLE:
Mathematical Modeling of a Metabolic Network to Study the Impact of Food Contaminants on Genomic Methylation and DNA Instability
AUTHORS:
Etienne Z. Gnimpieba, Souad Bousserouel, Abalo Chango
KEYWORDS:
DNA-Methylation, DNA Instability, Mathematical Modeling, Logic Programming, Metabolic Network, Food Contaminant
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Biosciences and Medicines,
Vol.2 No.10,
December
17,
2014
ABSTRACT: Environmental contamination of food is a
worldwide public health problem. Folate mediated one- carbon metabolism plays
an important role in epigenetic regulation of gene expression and mutagenesis.
Many contaminants in food cause cancer through epigenetic mechanisms and/or DNA
instability i.e. default methylation of uracil to thymine, subsequent to the
decrease of 5-methylte- trahydrofolate (5 mTHF) pool in the one-carbon
metabolism network. Evaluating consequences of an exposure to food contaminants
based on systems biology approaches is a promising alternative field of
investigation. This report presents a dynamic mathematical modeling for the
study of the alteration in the one-carbon metabolism network by environmental
factors. It provides a model for predicting “the impact of arbitrary
contaminants that can induce the 5 mTHF deficiency. The model allows for a
given experimental condition, the analysis of DNA methylation activity and
dumping methylation in the de novo pathway of DNA synthesis.