Related papers: Signaling activations through G-protein-coupled-re…
We look at the problem of signal transduction by extracellular agonist binding to a receptor protein at the membrane (sensor) via binding of G-proteins (effectors) to a highly integrative target molecule, such as the second messenger cAMP…
G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), primary targets for over one-third of approved therapeutics, rely on intricate conformational transitions to transduce signals. While Molecular Dynamics (MD) is essential for elucidating this…
Collective sensing by interacting cells is observed in a variety of biological systems, and yet a quantitative understanding of how sensory information is collectively encoded is lacking. Here we investigate the ATP-induced calcium dynamics…
T cell receptor signaling must operate reliably under tight time constraints. While assuming quite different mechanisms, two prominent models of T cell receptor activation, kinetic segregation and kinetic proofreading, both introduce a…
While G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) constitute the largest class of membrane proteins, structures and endogenous ligands of a large portion of GPCRs remain unknown. Due to the involvement of GPCRs in various signaling pathways and…
G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are a large superfamily of membrane proteins that are activated by extracellular small molecules or photons. Neurotensin receptor 1 (NTSR1) is a GPCR that is activated by neurotensin, i.e. a 13 amino acid…
Oscillations represent a ubiquitous phenomenon in biological systems. The conventional models of biological periodic oscillations are usually proposed as interconnecting transcriptional feedback loops. Some specific proteins function as…
Coordinated responses to environmental stimuli are critical for multicellular organisms. To overcome the obstacles of cell-to-cell heterogeneity and noisy signaling dynamics within individual cells, cells must effectively exchange…
Collective cell responses to exogenous cues depend on cell-cell interactions. In principle, these can result in enhanced sensitivity to weak and noisy stimuli. However, this has not yet been shown experimentally, and, little is known about…
The human neurotensin receptor 1 (NTSR1) is a G protein-coupled receptor that can be expressed in HEK293T cells by stable transfection. Its ligand is a 13-amino-acid peptide that binds with nanomolar affinity from the extracellular side to…
G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) constitute a broad class of cell-surface receptors in eukaryotes and they possess seven transmembrane a-helical domains. GPCRs are usually classified into several functionally distinct families that play…
Bacterial chemotaxis is controlled by the signalling of a cluster of receptors. A cooperative model is presented, in which coupling between neighbouring receptor dimers enhances the sensitivity with which stimuli can be detected, without…
Turing mechanisms can yield a large variety of patterns from noisy, homogenous initial conditions and have been proposed as patterning mechanism for many developmental processes. However, the molecular components that give rise to Turing…
Many signalling functions in molecular biology require proteins bind to substrates such as DNA in response to environmental signals such as the simultaneous binding to a small molecule. Examples are repressor proteins which may transmit…
The emergence of longer information-carrying and functional nucleotide polymers from random short strands was a major stepping stone at the dawn of life. But the formation of those polymers under temperature oscillation required some form…
Cell cortex contraction is essential for shaping cells, enabling movement, ensuring proper division, maintaining tissue integrity, guiding development, and responding to mechanical signals - all critical for the life and health of…
We present a new modeling approach for G protein coupled receptors signaling systems, that take into account the compartmentalization of receptors and their effectors, both at plasma membrane and in dynamic intra-cellular vesicles called…
Cells need to reliably sense external ligand concentrations to achieve various biological functions such as chemotaxis or signaling. The molecular recognition of ligands by surface receptors is degenerate in many systems leading to…
Cells use surface receptors to estimate the concentration of external ligands. Limits on the accuracy of such estimations have been well studied for pairs of ligand and receptor species. However, the environment typically contains many…
Effective organismal behavior responds appropriately to changes in the surrounding environment. Attaining this delicate balance of sensitivity and stability is a hallmark of the animal kingdom. By studying the locomotory behavior of a…