Using Systems Biology to Study Influenza

Systems biology is the study of how individual molecular components in a cell interact with each other to create active biological systems. This "grand scale" study of things generates information on the relationships between the structure and function of macromolecules (such as proteins), reaction dynamics (specific activity), and mechanisms for controlling reaction rates. These days, much of the information is built into models so that when new proteins with similar sequences are encountered, their systemic roles can be predicted.

The information obtained about the immune system, or viral and bacterial systems, can be used to produce better vaccines. For example, scientists at the Institute for Systems Biology are using what they have learned about the systems of the influenza virus to determine what makes one strain more potent than another. Some of this has to do with polymorphisms of proteins on the viral outer envelope, and their tolerance for remaining functional upon mutation.

For a complete lecture on this topic, the Institute has provided a 4-part video online.