Towards building an accurate brain molecular concentration database
An interesting study by Shichkova et al 2021, who perform proteomic/metabolomic profiling studies in different brain areas and cell types, integrate and normalize the data, and generate a Brain Molecular Atlas database. They then use this database to create more accurate representations of biomolecular systems that are simulation-ready.
An accurate molecular concentration database is a prerequisite for creating data-driven computational models of biochemical networks. The Brain Molecular Atlas that they present overcomes the obstacles of missing or inconsistent data to support systems biology research as a resource for biomolecular modeling.
One way this is relevant to brain preservation is that we will need accurate molecular concentrations to build realistic simulations of brain networks and map engrams. This is because engrams are likely composed of many molecular species and pathways that need to be accurately modeled in their concentrations in order to create an accurate representation of the engram.
Engrams could be distributed across multiple brain regions and cell types, and likely have a large number of pathways involved. Accurate molecular concentrations in these different contexts would be essential to be able to map engrams without potential gaps or inaccuracies.