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Multiscale Equation-Based Models: Insights for Inflammation and Physiological Variability

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Complex Systems and Computational Biology Approaches to Acute Inflammation

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Abstract

The inflammatory response initiates the healing and recovery from injury. When successful, this leads to the restoration of homeostasis; however, if homeostasis cannot be restored, elevated levels of inflammatory activity may exert a deleterious effect. Given the complexity inherent in the redundant and interacting components of the inflammatory response, the development of novel therapies aimed at modulating the inflammatory response has been slow. In this chapter, we discuss our work on modeling human endotoxemia while focusing on how physiologic variability plays a role in the inflammatory response and how rhythmic biological signals may be applied in a translational context. Physiologic variability, ranging in scale from oscillations in autonomic activity less than 1 Hz which are reflected in short-term heart rate variability (HRV) to circadian rhythms in cytokine and hormone activities, is generally disrupted in inflammation. Based on this, the opportunity exists to study biological rhythms to gain insight into underlying physiological mechanisms and identify clinically relevant information.

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Acknowledgments

I.P. Androulakis acknowledges support from NIH GM082974. J.D. Scheff and S.E. Calvano are supported, in part, from NIH GM34695.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biomedical Engineering, Rutgers University, 599 Taylor Rd, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA

    Jeremy D. Scheff B.S. & Ioannis P. Androulakis Ph.D.

  2. Department of Surgery, UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, CAB, Room 7078, 125 Paterson Street, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, USA

    Steve E. Calvano Ph.D.

Authors
  1. Jeremy D. Scheff B.S.
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  2. Steve E. Calvano Ph.D.
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  3. Ioannis P. Androulakis Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Ioannis P. Androulakis Ph.D. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Pittsburgh Inflammation and Regenerative Modeling, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

    Yoram Vodovotz

  2. University of Chicago Medical Center MC 5094, Chicago, Illinois, USA

    Gary An

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Scheff, J.D., Calvano, S.E., Androulakis, I.P. (2013). Multiscale Equation-Based Models: Insights for Inflammation and Physiological Variability. In: Vodovotz, Y., An, G. (eds) Complex Systems and Computational Biology Approaches to Acute Inflammation. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8008-2_7

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