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Moyer DC, Reimertz J, Segrè D, Fuxman Bass JI. Semi-Automatic Detection of Errors in Genome-Scale Metabolic Models. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.24.600481. [PMID: 38979177 PMCID: PMC11230171 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.24.600481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/10/2024]
Abstract
Background Genome-Scale Metabolic Models (GSMMs) are used for numerous tasks requiring computational estimates of metabolic fluxes, from predicting novel drug targets to engineering microbes to produce valuable compounds. A key limiting step in most applications of GSMMs is ensuring their representation of the target organism's metabolism is complete and accurate. Identifying and visualizing errors in GSMMs is complicated by the fact that they contain thousands of densely interconnected reactions. Furthermore, many errors in GSMMs only become apparent when considering pathways of connected reactions collectively, as opposed to examining reactions individually. Results We present Metabolic Accuracy Check and Analysis Workflow (MACAW), a collection of algorithms for detecting errors in GSMMs. The relative frequencies of errors we detect in manually curated GSMMs appear to reflect the different approaches used to curate them. Changing the method used to automatically create a GSMM from a particular organism's genome can have a larger impact on the kinds of errors in the resulting GSMM than using the same method with a different organism's genome. Our algorithms are particularly capable of identifying errors that are only apparent at the pathway level, including loops, and nontrivial cases of dead ends. Conclusions MACAW is capable of identifying inaccuracies of varying severity in a wide range of GSMMs. Correcting these errors can measurably improve the predictive capacity of a GSMM. The relative prevalence of each type of error we identify in a large collection of GSMMs could help shape future efforts for further automation of error correction and GSMM creation.
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Liu Y, Westerhoff HV. 'Social' versus 'asocial' cells-dynamic competition flux balance analysis. NPJ Syst Biol Appl 2023; 9:53. [PMID: 37898597 PMCID: PMC10613221 DOI: 10.1038/s41540-023-00313-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 10/09/2023] [Indexed: 10/30/2023] Open
Abstract
In multicellular organisms cells compete for resources or growth factors. If any one cell type wins, the co-existence of diverse cell types disappears. Existing dynamic Flux Balance Analysis (dFBA) does not accommodate changes in cell density caused by competition. Therefore we here develop 'dynamic competition Flux Balance Analysis' (dcFBA). With total biomass synthesis as objective, lower-growth-yield cells were outcompeted even when cells synthesized mutually required nutrients. Signal transduction between cells established co-existence, which suggests that such 'socialness' is required for multicellularity. Whilst mutants with increased specific growth rate did not outgrow the other cell types, loss of social characteristics did enable a mutant to outgrow the other cells. We discuss that 'asocialness' rather than enhanced growth rates, i.e., a reduced sensitivity to regulatory factors rather than enhanced growth rates, may characterize cancer cells and organisms causing ecological blooms. Therapies reinforcing cross-regulation may therefore be more effective than those targeting replication rates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanhua Liu
- Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Hans V Westerhoff
- Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
- Molecular Cell Biology, A-Life, Faculty of Science, Amsterdam Institute for Molecules, Medicines and Systems, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
- School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
- Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS), Wallenberg Research Centre at Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, 7600, South Africa.
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Sevrin T, Strasser L, Ternet C, Junk P, Caffarini M, Prins S, D’Arcy C, Catozzi S, Oliviero G, Wynne K, Kiel C, Luthert PJ. Whole-cell energy modeling reveals quantitative changes of predicted energy flows in RAS mutant cancer cell lines. iScience 2023; 26:105931. [PMID: 36711246 PMCID: PMC9874014 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.105931] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2022] [Revised: 10/27/2022] [Accepted: 01/03/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Cellular utilization of available energy flows to drive a multitude of forms of cellular "work" is a major biological constraint. Cells steer metabolism to address changing phenotypic states but little is known as to how bioenergetics couples to the richness of processes in a cell as a whole. Here, we outline a whole-cell energy framework that is informed by proteomic analysis and an energetics-based gene ontology. We separate analysis of metabolic supply and the capacity to generate high-energy phosphates from a representation of demand that is built on the relative abundance of ATPases and GTPases that deliver cellular work. We employed mouse embryonic fibroblast cell lines that express wild-type KRAS or oncogenic mutations and with distinct phenotypes. We observe shifts between energy-requiring processes. Calibrating against Seahorse analysis, we have created a whole-cell energy budget with apparent predictive power, for instance in relation to protein synthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Sevrin
- Systems Biology Ireland, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield Dublin 4, Ireland
- UCD Charles Institute of Dermatology, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield Dublin 4, Ireland
| | - Lisa Strasser
- Systems Biology Ireland, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield Dublin 4, Ireland
- UCD Charles Institute of Dermatology, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield Dublin 4, Ireland
| | - Camille Ternet
- Systems Biology Ireland, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield Dublin 4, Ireland
- UCD Charles Institute of Dermatology, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield Dublin 4, Ireland
| | - Philipp Junk
- Systems Biology Ireland, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield Dublin 4, Ireland
- UCD Charles Institute of Dermatology, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield Dublin 4, Ireland
| | - Miriam Caffarini
- Systems Biology Ireland, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield Dublin 4, Ireland
- UCD Charles Institute of Dermatology, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield Dublin 4, Ireland
| | - Stella Prins
- UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, 11-43 Bath Street, London EC1V 9EL, UK
| | - Cian D’Arcy
- Systems Biology Ireland, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield Dublin 4, Ireland
- UCD Charles Institute of Dermatology, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield Dublin 4, Ireland
| | - Simona Catozzi
- Systems Biology Ireland, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield Dublin 4, Ireland
- UCD Charles Institute of Dermatology, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield Dublin 4, Ireland
| | - Giorgio Oliviero
- Systems Biology Ireland, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield Dublin 4, Ireland
| | - Kieran Wynne
- Systems Biology Ireland, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield Dublin 4, Ireland
- Conway Institute of Biomolecular & Biomedical Research, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland
| | - Christina Kiel
- Systems Biology Ireland, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield Dublin 4, Ireland
- UCD Charles Institute of Dermatology, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield Dublin 4, Ireland
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy
- Corresponding author
| | - Philip J. Luthert
- UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, 11-43 Bath Street, London EC1V 9EL, UK
- NIHR Moorfields Biomedical Research Centre, University College London, 11-43 Bath Street, London EC1V 9EL, UK
- Corresponding author
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Goldberg RN, Giessmann RT, Halling PJ, Kettner C, Westerhoff HV. Recommendations for performing measurements of apparent equilibrium constants of enzyme-catalyzed reactions and for reporting the results of these measurements. Beilstein J Org Chem 2023; 19:303-316. [PMID: 36960304 PMCID: PMC10028569 DOI: 10.3762/bjoc.19.26] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2022] [Accepted: 02/15/2023] [Indexed: 03/17/2023] Open
Abstract
The measurement of values of apparent equilibrium constants K' for enzyme-catalyzed reactions involve a substantial number of critical details, neglect of which could lead to systematic errors. Here, interferences, impurities in the substances used, and failure to achieve equilibrium are matters of substantial consequence. Careful reporting of results is of great importance if the results are to have archival value. Thus, attention must be paid to the identification of the substances, specification of the reaction(s), the conditions of reaction, the definition of the equilibrium constant(s) and standard states, the use of standard nomenclature, symbols, and units, and uncertainties. This document contains a general discussion of various aspects of these equilibrium measurements as well as STRENDA (Standards for Reporting Enzymology Data) recommendations regarding the measurements and the reporting of results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert N Goldberg
- Biosystems and Biomaterials Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland, 20899, USA
| | - Robert T Giessmann
- Institute for Globally Distributed Open Research and Education (IGDORE), Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Carsten Kettner
- Beilstein-Institut, Trakehner Straße 7–9, 60487 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Hans V Westerhoff
- Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Amsterdam, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Molecular Cell Biology, Faculty of Science, Free University Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine, and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
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Combining denoising of RNA-seq data and flux balance analysis for cluster analysis of single cells. BMC Bioinformatics 2022; 23:445. [PMID: 36284276 PMCID: PMC9597960 DOI: 10.1186/s12859-022-04967-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2022] [Accepted: 09/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Sophisticated methods to properly pre-process and analyze the increasing collection of single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data are increasingly being developed. On the contrary, the best practices to integrate these data into metabolic networks, aiming at describing metabolic phenotypes within a heterogeneous cell population, have been poorly investigated. In this regard, a critical factor is the presence of false zero values in reactions essential for a fundamental metabolic function, such as biomass or energy production. Here, we investigate the role of denoising strategies in mitigating this problem. Methods We applied state-of-the-art denoising strategies - namely MAGIC, ENHANCE, and SAVER - on three public scRNA-seq datasets. We then associated a metabolic flux distribution with every single cell by embedding its noise-free transcriptomics profile in the constraints of the optimization of a core metabolic model. Finally, we used the obtained single-cell optimal metabolic fluxes as features for cluster analysis. We compared the results obtained with different techniques, and with or without the use of denoising. We also investigated the possibility of applying denoising directly on the Reaction Activity Scores, which are metabolic features extracted from the read counts, rather than on the read counts. Results We show that denoising of transcriptomics data improves the clustering of single cells. We also illustrate that denoising restores important metabolic properties, such as the correlation between cell cycle phase and biomass accumulation, and between the RAS scores of reactions belonging to the same metabolic pathway. We show that MAGIC performs better than ENHANCE and SAVER, and that, denoising applied directly on the RAS matrix could be an effective alternative in removing false zero values from essential metabolic reactions. Conclusions Our results indicate that including denoising as a pre-processing operation represents a milestone to integrate scRNA-seq data into Flux Balance Analysis simulations and to perform single-cell cluster analysis with a focus on metabolic phenotypes.
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Ng RH, Lee JW, Baloni P, Diener C, Heath JR, Su Y. Constraint-Based Reconstruction and Analyses of Metabolic Models: Open-Source Python Tools and Applications to Cancer. Front Oncol 2022; 12:914594. [PMID: 35875150 PMCID: PMC9303011 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2022.914594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2022] [Accepted: 05/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The influence of metabolism on signaling, epigenetic markers, and transcription is highly complex yet important for understanding cancer physiology. Despite the development of high-resolution multi-omics technologies, it is difficult to infer metabolic activity from these indirect measurements. Fortunately, genome-scale metabolic models and constraint-based modeling provide a systems biology framework to investigate the metabolic states and define the genotype-phenotype associations by integrations of multi-omics data. Constraint-Based Reconstruction and Analysis (COBRA) methods are used to build and simulate metabolic networks using mathematical representations of biochemical reactions, gene-protein reaction associations, and physiological and biochemical constraints. These methods have led to advancements in metabolic reconstruction, network analysis, perturbation studies as well as prediction of metabolic state. Most computational tools for performing these analyses are written for MATLAB, a proprietary software. In order to increase accessibility and handle more complex datasets and models, community efforts have started to develop similar open-source tools in Python. To date there is a comprehensive set of tools in Python to perform various flux analyses and visualizations; however, there are still missing algorithms in some key areas. This review summarizes the availability of Python software for several components of COBRA methods and their applications in cancer metabolism. These tools are evolving rapidly and should offer a readily accessible, versatile way to model the intricacies of cancer metabolism for identifying cancer-specific metabolic features that constitute potential drug targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel H. Ng
- Institute for Systems Biology, Seattle, WA, United States
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Jihoon W. Lee
- Medical Scientist Training Program, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
- Program in Immunology, Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, United States
| | | | | | - James R. Heath
- Institute for Systems Biology, Seattle, WA, United States
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
- *Correspondence: James R. Heath, ; Yapeng Su,
| | - Yapeng Su
- Program in Immunology, Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, United States
- Herbold Computational Biology Program, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, United States
- *Correspondence: James R. Heath, ; Yapeng Su,
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Di Filippo M, Pescini D, Galuzzi BG, Bonanomi M, Gaglio D, Mangano E, Consolandi C, Alberghina L, Vanoni M, Damiani C. INTEGRATE: Model-based multi-omics data integration to characterize multi-level metabolic regulation. PLoS Comput Biol 2022; 18:e1009337. [PMID: 35130273 PMCID: PMC8853556 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2021] [Revised: 02/17/2022] [Accepted: 01/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Metabolism is directly and indirectly fine-tuned by a complex web of interacting regulatory mechanisms that fall into two major classes. On the one hand, the expression level of the catalyzing enzyme sets the maximal theoretical flux level (i.e., the net rate of the reaction) for each enzyme-controlled reaction. On the other hand, metabolic regulation controls the metabolic flux through the interactions of metabolites (substrates, cofactors, allosteric modulators) with the responsible enzyme. High-throughput data, such as metabolomics and transcriptomics data, if analyzed separately, do not accurately characterize the hierarchical regulation of metabolism outlined above. They must be integrated to disassemble the interdependence between different regulatory layers controlling metabolism. To this aim, we propose INTEGRATE, a computational pipeline that integrates metabolomics and transcriptomics data, using constraint-based stoichiometric metabolic models as a scaffold. We compute differential reaction expression from transcriptomics data and use constraint-based modeling to predict if the differential expression of metabolic enzymes directly originates differences in metabolic fluxes. In parallel, we use metabolomics to predict how differences in substrate availability translate into differences in metabolic fluxes. We discriminate fluxes regulated at the metabolic and/or gene expression level by intersecting these two output datasets. We demonstrate the pipeline using a set of immortalized normal and cancer breast cell lines. In a clinical setting, knowing the regulatory level at which a given metabolic reaction is controlled will be valuable to inform targeted, truly personalized therapies in cancer patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marzia Di Filippo
- Department of Statistics and Quantitative Methods, University of Milan-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
- ISBE/SYSBIO Centre of Systems Biology, Milan, Italy
| | - Dario Pescini
- Department of Statistics and Quantitative Methods, University of Milan-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
- ISBE/SYSBIO Centre of Systems Biology, Milan, Italy
| | - Bruno Giovanni Galuzzi
- ISBE/SYSBIO Centre of Systems Biology, Milan, Italy
- Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milan-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Marcella Bonanomi
- ISBE/SYSBIO Centre of Systems Biology, Milan, Italy
- Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milan-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Daniela Gaglio
- ISBE/SYSBIO Centre of Systems Biology, Milan, Italy
- Institute of Molecular Bioimaging and Physiology (IBFM), National Research Council (CNR), Segrate, Italy
| | - Eleonora Mangano
- Institute for Biomedical Technologies (ITB), National Research Council (CNR), Segrate, Italy
| | - Clarissa Consolandi
- Institute for Biomedical Technologies (ITB), National Research Council (CNR), Segrate, Italy
| | - Lilia Alberghina
- ISBE/SYSBIO Centre of Systems Biology, Milan, Italy
- Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milan-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Marco Vanoni
- ISBE/SYSBIO Centre of Systems Biology, Milan, Italy
- Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milan-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Chiara Damiani
- ISBE/SYSBIO Centre of Systems Biology, Milan, Italy
- Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milan-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
- * E-mail:
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Passi A, Tibocha-Bonilla JD, Kumar M, Tec-Campos D, Zengler K, Zuniga C. Genome-Scale Metabolic Modeling Enables In-Depth Understanding of Big Data. Metabolites 2021; 12:14. [PMID: 35050136 PMCID: PMC8778254 DOI: 10.3390/metabo12010014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2021] [Revised: 12/18/2021] [Accepted: 12/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Genome-scale metabolic models (GEMs) enable the mathematical simulation of the metabolism of archaea, bacteria, and eukaryotic organisms. GEMs quantitatively define a relationship between genotype and phenotype by contextualizing different types of Big Data (e.g., genomics, metabolomics, and transcriptomics). In this review, we analyze the available Big Data useful for metabolic modeling and compile the available GEM reconstruction tools that integrate Big Data. We also discuss recent applications in industry and research that include predicting phenotypes, elucidating metabolic pathways, producing industry-relevant chemicals, identifying drug targets, and generating knowledge to better understand host-associated diseases. In addition to the up-to-date review of GEMs currently available, we assessed a plethora of tools for developing new GEMs that include macromolecular expression and dynamic resolution. Finally, we provide a perspective in emerging areas, such as annotation, data managing, and machine learning, in which GEMs will play a key role in the further utilization of Big Data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anurag Passi
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0760, USA; (A.P.); (M.K.); (D.T.-C.); (K.Z.)
| | - Juan D. Tibocha-Bonilla
- Bioinformatics and Systems Biology Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0760, USA;
| | - Manish Kumar
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0760, USA; (A.P.); (M.K.); (D.T.-C.); (K.Z.)
| | - Diego Tec-Campos
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0760, USA; (A.P.); (M.K.); (D.T.-C.); (K.Z.)
- Facultad de Ingeniería Química, Campus de Ciencias Exactas e Ingenierías, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Merida 97203, Yucatan, Mexico
| | - Karsten Zengler
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0760, USA; (A.P.); (M.K.); (D.T.-C.); (K.Z.)
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0412, USA
- Center for Microbiome Innovation, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0403, USA
| | - Cristal Zuniga
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0760, USA; (A.P.); (M.K.); (D.T.-C.); (K.Z.)
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