Nutrigenomics and Systems Biology

Systems biology has emerged as a critical concept for biological and medical research. Its growing recognition stems from the reality that organisms exist as systems, and the better we understand the interactions in these complex biological networks, the more readily we can develop effective prevention or treatment strategies that comprehensively address health problems. The field of systems biology therefore offers us a unique perspective in both theory and practice. At its core, systems biology emphasizes the interactions between biological mechanisms and how these signaling networks yield emergent properties of the system as a whole. In research, the implementation of this concept warrants the integration of systemwide experimental techniques to gather a complete bank of data on the numerous processes within a system. With today’s cutting-edge ‘omics’ technologies – including transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and lipidomics – we are capable of not just analyzing components of interest, but also constructing quantitative, verifiable models of biological systems to see how altering those components may affect a system overall. As the power of systems biology evolves, we must utilize its principles in the study of nutrigenomics as well as in translating the results into clinical applications. From a biological standpoint, nutrigenomics is actually an important domain of systems biology, from its research concept to its practical application. Nutrigenomics mainly deals with the interactions between nutrients and genes. On a larger scale, nutrigenomics reflects the interaction between an environmental factor (nutrients) and our biological systems (genes). Before we can evaluate the nutrient-gene interactions, we must also take into account the systemic factors that affect the bioavailability and tissue concentration of the nutrients of interest, including digestion, absorption, and transportation. At the molecular level, the evaluation of nutrigenomic effects requires a thorough examination of at least three interconnected systems: nutrient-nutrient, nutrient-gene, and gene-gene interactions. In terms of nutrient-nutrient interactions, one type of nutrient can significantly affect the metabolism and biological function of another nutrient. For example, omega-6 and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids are both essential fatty acids, but they compete with each other for metabolic Published online: February 9, 2013