title: Hierarchical analysis of piecewise affine models of gene regulatory networks.
abstract: A key point in the analysis of dynamical models of biological systems is to handle systems of relatively high dimensions. In the present paper we propose a method to hierarchically organize a certain type of piecewise affine (PWA) differential systems. This specific class of systems has been extensively studied for the past few years, as it provides a good framework to model gene regulatory networks. The method, shown on several examples, allows a qualitative analysis of the asymptotic behavior of a PWA system, decomposing it into several smaller subsystems. This technique, based on the well-known strongly connected components decomposition, is not new. However, its adaptation to the non-smooth PWA differential equations turns out to be quite relevant because of the strong discrete structure underlying these equations. Its biological relevance is shown on a 7-dimensional PWA system modeling the gene network responsible for the carbon starvation response in Escherichia coli.
authors.affiliation: INRIA COMORE, 2004 route des lucioles, 06902, Sophia-Antipolis, France. Laurent.Tournier@sophia.inria.fr
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tournier
authors.forename: Jean-Luc
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Gouzé
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D002244:Carbon / Q000378:metabolism; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000502:physiology*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000502:physiology*; D008954:Models, Biological; D020543:Proteome / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*; D049490:Systems Biology / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D020543:Proteome; D002244:Carbon