We use some examples to show that Metabolic Control Theory (MTC) not only allows the determination of the controlling steps of a metabolic network with the so-called control coefficients, but also leads to better understanding of the functioning of metabolic networks. The examples are taken partly from our own work on mitochondrial myopathies, partly from the literature: — the threshold effect observed in mitochondria diseases; — the problem of the diagnosis of complex I, II or III defects by measuring the NADH-cytochrome-c-reductase or the succinate-cytochrome-c-reductase activities with illustration by some cases. The possibility of a sum of control coefficients greater than one is also considered.
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