A computational model of lipopolysaccharide-induced nuclear factor kappa B activation: a key signalling pathway in infection-induced preterm labour.

Preterm birth is the single biggest cause of significant neonatal morbidity and mortality, and the incidence is rising. Development of new therapies to treat and prevent preterm labour is seriously hampered by incomplete understanding of the molecular mechanisms that initiate labour at term and pret...

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Main Authors: Gemma C Sharp, Hongwu Ma, Philippa T K Saunders, Jane E Norman
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2013-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0070180
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author Gemma C Sharp
Hongwu Ma
Philippa T K Saunders
Jane E Norman
author_facet Gemma C Sharp
Hongwu Ma
Philippa T K Saunders
Jane E Norman
author_sort Gemma C Sharp
collection DOAJ
description Preterm birth is the single biggest cause of significant neonatal morbidity and mortality, and the incidence is rising. Development of new therapies to treat and prevent preterm labour is seriously hampered by incomplete understanding of the molecular mechanisms that initiate labour at term and preterm. Computational modelling provides a new opportunity to improve this understanding. It is a useful tool in (i) identifying gaps in knowledge and informing future research, and (ii) providing the basis for an in silico model of parturition in which novel drugs to prevent or treat preterm labour can be "tested". Despite their merits, computational models are rarely used to study the molecular events initiating labour. Here, we present the first attempt to generate a dynamic kinetic model that has relevance to the molecular mechanisms of preterm labour. Using published data, we model an important candidate signalling pathway in infection-induced preterm labour: that of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) -induced activation of Nuclear Factor kappa B. This is the first model of this pathway to explicitly include molecular interactions upstream of Nuclear Factor kappa B activation. We produced a formalised graphical depiction of the pathway and built a kinetic model based on ordinary differential equations. The kinetic model accurately reproduced published in vitro time course plots of Lipopolysaccharide-induced Nuclear Factor kappa B activation in mouse embryo fibroblasts. In this preliminary work we have provided proof of concept that it is possible to build computational models of signalling pathways that are relevant to the regulation of labour, and suggest that models that are validated with wet-lab experiments have the potential to greatly benefit the field.
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spelling doaj-art-98b90eb354b74b299c212979dbb3a3df2025-08-20T03:46:24ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032013-01-0187e7018010.1371/journal.pone.0070180A computational model of lipopolysaccharide-induced nuclear factor kappa B activation: a key signalling pathway in infection-induced preterm labour.Gemma C SharpHongwu MaPhilippa T K SaundersJane E NormanPreterm birth is the single biggest cause of significant neonatal morbidity and mortality, and the incidence is rising. Development of new therapies to treat and prevent preterm labour is seriously hampered by incomplete understanding of the molecular mechanisms that initiate labour at term and preterm. Computational modelling provides a new opportunity to improve this understanding. It is a useful tool in (i) identifying gaps in knowledge and informing future research, and (ii) providing the basis for an in silico model of parturition in which novel drugs to prevent or treat preterm labour can be "tested". Despite their merits, computational models are rarely used to study the molecular events initiating labour. Here, we present the first attempt to generate a dynamic kinetic model that has relevance to the molecular mechanisms of preterm labour. Using published data, we model an important candidate signalling pathway in infection-induced preterm labour: that of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) -induced activation of Nuclear Factor kappa B. This is the first model of this pathway to explicitly include molecular interactions upstream of Nuclear Factor kappa B activation. We produced a formalised graphical depiction of the pathway and built a kinetic model based on ordinary differential equations. The kinetic model accurately reproduced published in vitro time course plots of Lipopolysaccharide-induced Nuclear Factor kappa B activation in mouse embryo fibroblasts. In this preliminary work we have provided proof of concept that it is possible to build computational models of signalling pathways that are relevant to the regulation of labour, and suggest that models that are validated with wet-lab experiments have the potential to greatly benefit the field.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0070180
spellingShingle Gemma C Sharp
Hongwu Ma
Philippa T K Saunders
Jane E Norman
A computational model of lipopolysaccharide-induced nuclear factor kappa B activation: a key signalling pathway in infection-induced preterm labour.
PLoS ONE
title A computational model of lipopolysaccharide-induced nuclear factor kappa B activation: a key signalling pathway in infection-induced preterm labour.
title_full A computational model of lipopolysaccharide-induced nuclear factor kappa B activation: a key signalling pathway in infection-induced preterm labour.
title_fullStr A computational model of lipopolysaccharide-induced nuclear factor kappa B activation: a key signalling pathway in infection-induced preterm labour.
title_full_unstemmed A computational model of lipopolysaccharide-induced nuclear factor kappa B activation: a key signalling pathway in infection-induced preterm labour.
title_short A computational model of lipopolysaccharide-induced nuclear factor kappa B activation: a key signalling pathway in infection-induced preterm labour.
title_sort computational model of lipopolysaccharide induced nuclear factor kappa b activation a key signalling pathway in infection induced preterm labour
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0070180
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