How Computational Models Enable Mechanistic Insights into Virus Infection

Research output: Contribution to book/conference proceedings/anthology/reportChapter in book/anthology/reportContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

An implicit aim in cellular infection biology is to understand the mechanisms how viruses, microbes, eukaryotic parasites, and fungi usurp the functions of host cells and cause disease. Mechanistic insight is a deep understanding of the biophysical and biochemical processes that give rise to an observable phenomenon. It is typically subject to falsification, that is, it is accessible to experimentation and empirical data acquisition. This is different from logic and mathematics, which are not empirical, but built on systems of inherently consistent axioms. Here, we argue that modeling and computer simulation, combined with mechanistic insights, yields unprecedented deep understanding of phenomena in biology and especially in virus infections by providing a way of showing sufficiency of a hypothetical mechanism. This ideally complements the necessity statements accessible to empirical falsification by additional positive evidence. We discuss how computational implementations of mathematical models can assist and enhance the quantitative measurements of infection dynamics of enveloped and non-enveloped viruses and thereby help generating causal insights into virus infection biology.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationInfluenza Virus
EditorsYohei Yamauchi
PublisherHumana Press
Pages609-631
Number of pages23
ISBN (electronic)978-1-4939-8678-1
ISBN (print)978-1-4939-9363-5
Publication statusPublished - 2018
Peer-reviewedYes

Publication series

SeriesMethods in Molecular Biology
Volume1836
ISSN1064-3745

External IDs

PubMed 30151595
ORCID /0000-0003-4414-4340/work/142252151

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Keywords

  • Adenovirus, Cell biology, Computing, Enveloped virus, In silico reconstitution, Influenza virus, Modeling, Non-enveloped virus, Parameter fitting virus infection mechanisms, Simulation