A Mathematical Model of Receptor-Mediated Apoptosis: Dying to Know Why FasL is a Trimer
The scientific importance of understanding programmed cell death isundeniable; however, the complexity of death signal propagation andthe formerly incomplete knowledge of apoptotic pathways has left thistopic virtually untouched by mathematical modeling. In this paper, weuse a mechanistic approach...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
AIMS Press
2004-06-01
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| Series: | Mathematical Biosciences and Engineering |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.aimspress.com/article/doi/10.3934/mbe.2004.1.325 |
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| Summary: | The scientific importance of understanding programmed cell death isundeniable; however, the complexity of death signal propagation andthe formerly incomplete knowledge of apoptotic pathways has left thistopic virtually untouched by mathematical modeling. In this paper, weuse a mechanistic approach to frame the current understanding ofreceptor-mediated apoptosis with an immediate goal of isolating therole receptor trimerization plays in this process. Analysis andsimulation suggest that if the death signal is to be successful at low-receptor, high-ligand concentration, Fas trimerization is unlikely tobe the driving force in the signal propagation. However at high-receptor and low-ligand concentrations, the mathematical modelillustrates how the ability of FasL to cluster three Fas receptors canbe crucially important for downstream events that propagate theapoptotic signal. |
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| ISSN: | 1551-0018 |