Abstract

We are all perplexed that current medical practice often appears maladroit in curing our individual illnesses or disease. However, as is often the case, a lack of understanding, tools and technologies are the root cause of such situations. Human individuality is an often-quoted term but, in the context of human biology, it is poorly understood. This is compounded when there is a need to consider the variability of human populations. In the case of the former, it is possible to quantify human complexity as determined by the 35,000 genes of the human genome, the 1–10 million proteins (including antibodies) and the 2000–3000 metabolites of the human metabolome. Human variability is much more difficult to assess, since many of the variables, such as the definition of race, are not even clearly agreed on. In order to accommodate human complexity, variability and its influence on health and disease, it is necessary to undertake a systematic approach. In the past decade, the emergence of analytical platforms and bioinformatics tools has led to the development of systems biology. Such an approach offers enormous potential in defining key pathways and networks involved in optimal human health, as well as disease onset, progression and treatment. The tools and technologies now available in systems biology analyses offer exciting opportunities to exploit the emerging areas of personalized medicine. In this article, we discuss the current status of human complexity, and how systems biology and personalized medicine can impact at the individual and population level.

Keywords:

Papers of special note have been highlighted as: ▪ of interest ▪▪ of considerable interest

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Vol. 7, No. 3

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Published online 26 April 2010

Published in print May 2010

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Financial & competing interests disclosure

Stephen Naylor acknowledges the support of the National Institutes of Health through an SBIR Grant (5R44-HL082382–03). Jake Chen acknowledges the partial support of Indiana Center for Systems Biology and Personalized Medicine for this work. Stephen Naylor is a cofounder, Chairman and Chief Scientific Officer of Predictive Physiology and Medicine Inc (PPM), which is a company that offers tools and information content to individuals in the personalized medicine sector. Jake Chen is a cofounder of PPM. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

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Unraveling human complexity and disease with systems biology and personalized medicine

Abstract

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