Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q) scientists have drafted a metabolic map of the human body that shows how human metabolism works as a system, and how it can potentially be modified to treat disease. The map, published in Nature Genetics shows different pathways between genes, enzymes and metabolites, demonstrating that a drug used to target one gene may have several different effects—and consequences—on other pathways.
A single genetic difference in the way that an enzyme behaves may produce positive or negative effects. It may make someone prone to certain diseases, or protect them from some illnesses.
“This is an atlas of how everybody is metabolically different. We can now really understand the genetic part of human metabolism as a whole,” said Dr. Karsten Suhre, a professor of physiology and biophysics at WCMC-Q, who worked with partners at European institutions to create the map.
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