ODE and Random Boolean networks in application to modelling of 6-mercaptopurine metabolism

We consider two approaches to modelling of cell metabolism of 6-mercaptopurine, which is one of the important chemotherapy drugs used for treating of acute lymphocytic leukemia: kinetic ordinary differential equations and random Boolean networks, and analyse their interplay with respect to taking into account ATP concentration as a key parameter of switching between different pathways. It is shown that Boolean networks, which allow for avoiding complexity of general kinetic modelling, preserve an opportunity to the reproduction of the principal switching mechanism. To keep a detailed quantitative measure of the control parameter, a combined Boolean-ODE method is proposed.