Systems biology of tuberculosis: Insights for drug discovery

Abstract

Tuberculosis has been a global health concern for decades and the emergence of resistant strains and co-infection with HIV warrant newer approaches to identify anti-tubercular drugs and targets. The availability of many omics-scale data sets, together with the advances in computation and modelling have enabled the application of several systems-level modelling techniques in drug discovery. In this chapter, we focus on how systems-level modelling of Mtb can provide us insights on various aspects of the pathogen, from metabolic pathways to protein-protein interaction networks, and how such models lend themselves to the identification of new and potentially improved drug targets.We present a brief overview of the modelling of mycobacterial metabolism, transcriptome and host-pathogen interactions, as well as how various models can be exploited for a rational identification of potential drug targets. Systems-level modelling and simulation of pathogenic organisms has an immense potential to impact most drug discovery programmes. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.