Modelling and simulation of biochemical processes using Petri nets

Abstract

Systems composed of many components which interact with each other and lead to unpredictable global behaviour, are considered as complex systems. In a biological context, complex systems represent living systems composed of a large number of interacting elements. In order to study these systems, a precise mathematical modelling was typically used in this context. However, this modelling has limitations in the structural understanding and the behavioural study. In this sense, formal computational modelling is an approach that allows to model and to simulate dynamical properties of these particular systems. In this paper, we use Hybrid Functional Petri Net (HFPN), a Petri net extension dedicated to study and verify biopathways, to model and study the Methionine metabolic pathway. Methionine and its derivatives play significant roles in human bodies. We propose a set of simulations for the purpose of studying and analysing the Methionine pathway's behaviour. Our simulation results have shown that several important abnormalities in this pathway are related to sever diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, cardiovascular disease, cancers and others.