Signal Transduction Process Subject to Response Delays: Stability and Oscillations

摘要

In order for a life form to be able to function properly, its cellular constituents need to have the ability to efficiently communicate with each other. Signal transduction is the process by which information from an extracellular signal is transmitted from the plasma membrane into the cell and along an intracellular chain of signaling molecules to stimulate a cellular response. We know of many situations where altered signaling pathways produce dramatic changes in cell survival, cell proliferation, morphology, angiogenesis, longevity, or other properties that characterize cancer cells. In this study, we derive conditions on the system parameters which give rise to different dynamical behaviors which could be expected in the signaling pathway under the impact of delays. Numerical simulations are carried out and discussed in support of the theoretical analysis. Our investigation, apart from yielding valuable insights, provides delineating conditions that can help differentiate between health and disease which could be extremely helpful to those in the health care services.