Spatial regulation and the rate of signal transduction activation.

ABSTRACT: Of the many important signaling events that take place on the surface of a mammalian cell, activation of signal transduction pathways via interactions of cell surface receptors is one of the most important. Evidence suggests that cell surface proteins are not as freely diffusible as implied by the classic fluid mosaic model and that their confinement to membrane domains is regulated. It is unknown whether these dynamic localization mechanisms function to enhance signal transduction activation rate or to minimize cross talk among pathways that share common intermediates. To determine which of these two possibilities is more likely, we derive an explicit equation for the rate at which cell surface membrane proteins interact based on a Brownian motion model in the presence of endocytosis and

SUBMITTER: Batada NN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1458967 | biostudies-literature | 2006 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature