Ultrasensitivity in signaling cascades revisited: Linking local and global ultrasensitivity estimations.

Ultrasensitive response motifs, capable of converting graded stimuli into binary responses, are well-conserved in signal transduction networks. Although it has been shown that a cascade arrangement of multiple ultrasensitive modules can enhance the system's ultrasensitivity, how a given combina...

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Main Authors: Edgar Altszyler, Alejandra C Ventura, Alejandro Colman-Lerner, Ariel Chernomoretz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2017-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0180083&type=printable
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author Edgar Altszyler
Alejandra C Ventura
Alejandro Colman-Lerner
Ariel Chernomoretz
author_facet Edgar Altszyler
Alejandra C Ventura
Alejandro Colman-Lerner
Ariel Chernomoretz
author_sort Edgar Altszyler
collection DOAJ
description Ultrasensitive response motifs, capable of converting graded stimuli into binary responses, are well-conserved in signal transduction networks. Although it has been shown that a cascade arrangement of multiple ultrasensitive modules can enhance the system's ultrasensitivity, how a given combination of layers affects a cascade's ultrasensitivity remains an open question for the general case. Here, we introduce a methodology that allows us to determine the presence of sequestration effects and to quantify the relative contribution of each module to the overall cascade's ultrasensitivity. The proposed analysis framework provides a natural link between global and local ultrasensitivity descriptors and it is particularly well-suited to characterize and understand mathematical models used to study real biological systems. As a case study, we have considered three mathematical models introduced by O'Shaughnessy et al. to study a tunable synthetic MAPK cascade, and we show how our methodology can help modelers better understand alternative models.
format Article
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institution DOAJ
issn 1932-6203
language English
publishDate 2017-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLoS ONE
spelling doaj-art-13a614219520471d9ae5982ff84d403b2025-08-20T02:46:04ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032017-01-01126e018008310.1371/journal.pone.0180083Ultrasensitivity in signaling cascades revisited: Linking local and global ultrasensitivity estimations.Edgar AltszylerAlejandra C VenturaAlejandro Colman-LernerAriel ChernomoretzUltrasensitive response motifs, capable of converting graded stimuli into binary responses, are well-conserved in signal transduction networks. Although it has been shown that a cascade arrangement of multiple ultrasensitive modules can enhance the system's ultrasensitivity, how a given combination of layers affects a cascade's ultrasensitivity remains an open question for the general case. Here, we introduce a methodology that allows us to determine the presence of sequestration effects and to quantify the relative contribution of each module to the overall cascade's ultrasensitivity. The proposed analysis framework provides a natural link between global and local ultrasensitivity descriptors and it is particularly well-suited to characterize and understand mathematical models used to study real biological systems. As a case study, we have considered three mathematical models introduced by O'Shaughnessy et al. to study a tunable synthetic MAPK cascade, and we show how our methodology can help modelers better understand alternative models.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0180083&type=printable
spellingShingle Edgar Altszyler
Alejandra C Ventura
Alejandro Colman-Lerner
Ariel Chernomoretz
Ultrasensitivity in signaling cascades revisited: Linking local and global ultrasensitivity estimations.
PLoS ONE
title Ultrasensitivity in signaling cascades revisited: Linking local and global ultrasensitivity estimations.
title_full Ultrasensitivity in signaling cascades revisited: Linking local and global ultrasensitivity estimations.
title_fullStr Ultrasensitivity in signaling cascades revisited: Linking local and global ultrasensitivity estimations.
title_full_unstemmed Ultrasensitivity in signaling cascades revisited: Linking local and global ultrasensitivity estimations.
title_short Ultrasensitivity in signaling cascades revisited: Linking local and global ultrasensitivity estimations.
title_sort ultrasensitivity in signaling cascades revisited linking local and global ultrasensitivity estimations
url https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0180083&type=printable
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