Evidence map›Paper›PMID 22920937›Full record

ArticleBMC systems biology2012

Emergence of bimodal cell population responses from the interplay between analog single-cell signaling and protein expression noise.

Marc R Birtwistle, Jens Rauch, Anatoly Kiyatkin, Edita Aksamitiene, Maciej Dobrzyński, Jan B Hoek, Walter Kolch, Babatunde A Ogunnaike, Boris N Kholodenko

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC systems biology, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 48 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
48citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

48 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Marc R BirtwistleDept. of Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY 10029, USA.
Jens Rauch
Anatoly Kiyatkin
Edita Aksamitiene
Maciej Dobrzyński
Jan B Hoek
Walter Kolch
Babatunde A Ogunnaike
Boris N Kholodenko

Funding

Alcohol Tissue InjuryT32AA007463 · NIAAA · THOMAS JEFFERSON UNIVERSITY · PI HOEK, JOANNES B, VADIGEPALLI, RAJANIKANTH · 1985 to 2021
$9.1M
Ethanol Effects on the Transcriptional Regulatory Network in Liver Regeneration -R01AA018873 · NIAAA · THOMAS JEFFERSON UNIVERSITY · PI SRIVASTAVA, ANKITA · 2009 to 2025
$8.7M
NIAAA NIH HHS R01 AA018873NIAAA NIH HHS T32 AA007463
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCell-to-cell variability in protein expression can be large, and its propagation through signaling networks affects biological outcomes. Here, we apply deterministic and probabilistic models and biochemical measurements to study how network topologies and cell-to-cell protein abundance variations interact to shape signaling responses.

resultsWe observe bimodal distributions of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) responses to epidermal growth factor (EGF) stimulation, which are generally thought to indicate bistable or ultrasensitive signaling behavior in single cells. Surprisingly, we find that a simple MAPK/ERK-cascade model with negative feedback that displays graded, analog ERK responses at a single cell level can explain the experimentally observed bimodality at the cell population level. Model analysis suggests that a conversion of graded input-output responses in single cells to digital responses at the population level is caused by a broad distribution of ERK pathway activation thresholds brought about by cell-to-cell variability in protein expression.

conclusionsOur results show that bimodal signaling response distributions do not necessarily imply digital (ultrasensitive or bistable) single cell signaling, and the interplay between protein expression noise and network topologies can bring about digital population responses from analog single cell dose responses. Thus, cells can retain the benefits of robustness arising from negative feedback, while simultaneously generating population-level on/off responses that are thought to be critical for regulating cell fate decisions.

Indexed as

Gene Expression RegulationModels, BiologicalSignal TransductionEnzyme ActivationEpidermal Growth FactorExtracellular Signal-Regulated MAP KinasesFeedback, PhysiologicalHEK293 CellsHumansras ProteinsStochastic ProcessesEpidermal Growth FactorExtracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinasesras Proteins

Identifiers

PMID22920937
PMCPMC3484110

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.