Cell biology: Networks, regulation, pathways

TL;DR

This review surveys theoretical approaches to cell biology, focusing on cellular networks, modeling classes, and design principles, highlighting areas of consensus and promising research directions.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of the theoretical modeling of cellular networks and discusses emerging design principles in cell biology.

Findings

Identification of key cellular network components

Discussion of different modeling approaches

Highlighting promising areas for future research

Abstract

This review was written for the Encyclopedia of Complexity and System Science (Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 2008), and is intended as a guide to the growing literature which approaches the phenomena of cell biology from a more theoretical point of view. We begin with the building blocks of cellular networks, and proceed toward the different classes of models being explored, finally discussing the "design principles" which have been suggested for these systems. Although largely a dispassionate review, we do draw attention to areas where there seems to be general consensus on ideas that have not been tested very thoroughly and, more optimistically, to areas where we feel promising ideas deserve to be more fully explored.