Information transmission in a cell monolayer: A numerical study.

Motivated by the spatiotemporal waves of MAPK/ERK activity, crucial for long-range communication in regenerating tissues, we investigated stochastic homoclinic fronts propagating through channels formed by directly interacting cells. We evaluated the efficiency of long-range communication in these c...

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Main Authors: Paweł Nałęcz-Jawecki, Przemysław Szyc, Frederic Grabowski, Marek Kochańczyk, Tomasz Lipniacki
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025-02-01
Series:PLoS Computational Biology
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1012846
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author Paweł Nałęcz-Jawecki
Przemysław Szyc
Frederic Grabowski
Marek Kochańczyk
Tomasz Lipniacki
author_facet Paweł Nałęcz-Jawecki
Przemysław Szyc
Frederic Grabowski
Marek Kochańczyk
Tomasz Lipniacki
author_sort Paweł Nałęcz-Jawecki
collection DOAJ
description Motivated by the spatiotemporal waves of MAPK/ERK activity, crucial for long-range communication in regenerating tissues, we investigated stochastic homoclinic fronts propagating through channels formed by directly interacting cells. We evaluated the efficiency of long-range communication in these channels by examining the rate of information transmission. Our study identified the stochastic phenomena that reduce this rate: front propagation failure, new front spawning, and variability in the front velocity. We found that a trade-off between the frequencies of propagation failures and new front spawning determines the optimal channel width (which geometrically determines the front length). The optimal frequency of initiating new waves is determined by a trade-off between the input information rate (higher with more frequent initiation) and the fidelity of information transmission (lower with more frequent initiation). Our analysis provides insight into the relative timescales of intra- and intercellular processes necessary for successful wave propagation.
format Article
id doaj-art-e13831dcae9b4fc798870a820cd37f3c
institution OA Journals
issn 1553-734X
1553-7358
language English
publishDate 2025-02-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLoS Computational Biology
spelling doaj-art-e13831dcae9b4fc798870a820cd37f3c2025-08-20T01:49:47ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Computational Biology1553-734X1553-73582025-02-01212e101284610.1371/journal.pcbi.1012846Information transmission in a cell monolayer: A numerical study.Paweł Nałęcz-JaweckiPrzemysław SzycFrederic GrabowskiMarek KochańczykTomasz LipniackiMotivated by the spatiotemporal waves of MAPK/ERK activity, crucial for long-range communication in regenerating tissues, we investigated stochastic homoclinic fronts propagating through channels formed by directly interacting cells. We evaluated the efficiency of long-range communication in these channels by examining the rate of information transmission. Our study identified the stochastic phenomena that reduce this rate: front propagation failure, new front spawning, and variability in the front velocity. We found that a trade-off between the frequencies of propagation failures and new front spawning determines the optimal channel width (which geometrically determines the front length). The optimal frequency of initiating new waves is determined by a trade-off between the input information rate (higher with more frequent initiation) and the fidelity of information transmission (lower with more frequent initiation). Our analysis provides insight into the relative timescales of intra- and intercellular processes necessary for successful wave propagation.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1012846
spellingShingle Paweł Nałęcz-Jawecki
Przemysław Szyc
Frederic Grabowski
Marek Kochańczyk
Tomasz Lipniacki
Information transmission in a cell monolayer: A numerical study.
PLoS Computational Biology
title Information transmission in a cell monolayer: A numerical study.
title_full Information transmission in a cell monolayer: A numerical study.
title_fullStr Information transmission in a cell monolayer: A numerical study.
title_full_unstemmed Information transmission in a cell monolayer: A numerical study.
title_short Information transmission in a cell monolayer: A numerical study.
title_sort information transmission in a cell monolayer a numerical study
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1012846
work_keys_str_mv AT pawełnałeczjawecki informationtransmissioninacellmonolayeranumericalstudy
AT przemysławszyc informationtransmissioninacellmonolayeranumericalstudy
AT fredericgrabowski informationtransmissioninacellmonolayeranumericalstudy
AT marekkochanczyk informationtransmissioninacellmonolayeranumericalstudy
AT tomaszlipniacki informationtransmissioninacellmonolayeranumericalstudy