Dynamical modeling of the biological regulatory network of NF-kB activation in HIV-1

The logical formalism of René Thomas is a powerful approach for the discrete (qualitative) modeling and analysis of the Biological Regulatory Networks (BRNs). In this paper, we qualitatively model the NF-kB associated biological regulatory network in the case of HIV-1 infection. High levels of HIV-1 genes expression can be due to the increased levels of intracellular NF-kB and could thus offer a favorable environment for HIV-1 replication. The continuous production of inflammatory cytokines also stimulate NF-kB domain Rel A to replicate HIV-1. Our model shows stable steady states and cycles, giving insight into the abnormal and normal behaviors respectively. The BRN of NF-kB activation in HIV-1 replication and subsequent immune suppression leads to a stable steady state depicting vicious cycle of HIV causing its rapid replication due to uncontrolled transactivation. The qualitative cycles in the model characterize the normal immune response against HIV-1.