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Review
. 2018 Dec 13;8(4):44.
doi: 10.3390/jpm8040044.

Personalized Medicine and Molecular Interaction Networks in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS): Current Knowledge

Stephen Morgan  1 , Stephanie Duguez  2 , William Duddy  3
Affiliations
Review

Personalized Medicine and Molecular Interaction Networks in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS): Current Knowledge

Stephen Morgan et al. J Pers Med. .

Abstract

Multiple genes and mechanisms of pathophysiology have been implicated in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), suggesting it is a complex systemic disease. With this in mind, applying personalized medicine (PM) approaches to tailor treatment pipelines for ALS patients may be necessary. The modelling and analysis of molecular interaction networks could represent valuable resources in defining ALS-associated pathways and discovering novel therapeutic targets. Here we review existing omics datasets and analytical approaches, in order to consider how molecular interaction networks could improve our understanding of the molecular pathophysiology of this fatal neuromuscular disorder.

Keywords: ALS; molecular interaction networks; personalized medicine.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A central concept in the analysis of molecular interaction networks (MINs) is the identification of network modules, or clusters, of interactions that represent a process or pathway relevant to disease. The affected network module may differ between subgroups of a patient population, which could be used to develop personalized medicine approaches. (a) A miniature example of a MIN, with three network modules indicated in blue, green, and yellow. Within each module, specific genetic variants or biomolecules, indicated in red, are known to be associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) pathology. (b) ALS subpopulations separated according to which module is affected or dysregulated. (c) Potential drug therapies can be tailored to target specific mechanisms within the ALS disease pathway, corresponding to specific patient subpopulations.
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