UC San Diego

In the past, metabolic network reconstruction has been used extensively for the analysis and discoveries in microorganisms such as E.Coli. furthermore, after the completion of human genome sequencing and building of the first human metabolic network reconstruction (Recon 1) in 2007, there has been a growing interest in reconstruction of tissue-specific metabolic networks based on the human metabolic network reconstruction. This work is an attempt to reconstruct human platelet's metabolic network based on the Recon 1. The advancements in proteomics techniques have provided us with a wealth of high throughput dataset on human platelets. These datasets were carefully reviewed and annotated in order to obtain a solid and comprehensive proteomic profile of human platelet. Then the metabolic functionality and capabilities of human platelet were identified in the literature. After applying some modifications and refinements to the Recon 1 to accommodate these metabolic capabilities, an algorithmic approach was used to tailor the platelet specific conditions to the Recon1. Once the in silico model of human platelet was created, its network properties and models functionalities were characterized using constraint based analysis such as flux balance analysis and flux variability analysis. The model's solution space was further investigated using a sampling method and coset analysis. Finally the effect of aspirin on platelet was simulated and analyzed using the tools mentioned