Tuning Resistance in the Map Kinase Pathway: Lessons for Synthetic Biology from a Developmental Network in C. Elegans

摘要

Diverse stimuli (e.g., stress, growth factors and cell adhesion) stimulate common intracellular signaling mechanisms en route to affecting cell responses. An example of such a core signaling mechanism is the MAP kinase cascade. Regardless of the upstream stimulus and the downstream cell response, the core MAP kinase signaling "protocol" is similar: it involves serial activation of three kinases, each one deactivated by phosphatases. Strategies to tune the quantitative performance of such common signaling protocols will provide broad access to re-engineer numerous stimulus-cell response relationships.