Molecular Communication through Gap Junction Channels

Molecular communication is engineered biological communication that allows biological devices to communicate through chemical signals. Since biological devices are made of biological materials and are not amenable to traditional communication means (e.g., electromagnetic waves), molecular communication provides a mechanism for biological devices to communicate by transmitting, propagating, and receiving molecules that represent information. In this paper, we explore biological cells and their communication mechanisms for designing and engineering synthetic molecular communication systems. The paper first discusses the characteristics and potential design of communication mechanisms, and then reports our experimental and modeling studies to address physical layer issues of molecular communication.

[1]  T J Sejnowski,et al.  Noise enhanced hormonal signal transduction through intracellular calcium oscillations. , 2001, Biophysical Chemistry.

[2]  Hiroaki Kitano,et al.  Biological robustness , 2008, Nature Reviews Genetics.

[3]  Hossein Bidgoli.  The Handbook of Computer Networks , 2007 .

[4]  Tatsuya Suda,et al.  Molecular communication through gap junction channels: System design, experiments and modeling , 2007, 2007 2nd Bio-Inspired Models of Network, Information and Computing Systems.

[5]  Özgür B. Akan,et al.  An information theoretical approach for molecular communication , 2007, 2007 2nd Bio-Inspired Models of Network, Information and Computing Systems.

[6]  K Prank,et al.  Coding efficiency and information rates in transmembrane signaling. , 2000, Bio Systems.

[7]  S. Basu,et al.  A synthetic multicellular system for programmed pattern formation , 2005, Nature.

[8]  Andrew W. Eckford,et al.  Nanoscale Communication with Brownian Motion , 2007, 2007 41st Annual Conference on Information Sciences and Systems.

[9]  Andrew W. Eckford.  Achievable information rates for molecular communication with distinct molecules , 2007, 2007 2nd Bio-Inspired Models of Network, Information and Computing Systems.

[10]  Peter J. Thomas,et al.  The Diffusion-Limited Biochemical Signal-Relay Channel , 2003, NIPS.

[11]  M. Berridge,et al.  The versatility and universality of calcium signalling , 2000, Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology.

[12]  T. Suda,et al.  Molecular communication for nanomachines using intercellular calcium signaling , 2005, 5th IEEE Conference on Nanotechnology, 2005..

[13]  Hidefumi Sawai,et al.  A New Channel Coding Algorithm Based on Phosphorylation/dephosphorylation-proteins and GTPases , 2006, 2006 1st Bio-Inspired Models of Network, Information and Computing Systems.

[14]  A Goldbeter,et al.  Minimal model for signal-induced Ca2+ oscillations and for their frequency encoding through protein phosphorylation. , 1990, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[15]  H. Noji,et al.  A rotary molecular motor that can work at near 100% efficiency. , 2000, Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences.

[16]  L. Venance,et al.  Control and Plasticity of Intercellular Calcium Waves in Astrocytes: A Modeling Approach , 2002, The Journal of Neuroscience.

[17]  H. Kettenmann,et al.  Calcium signaling in glial cells , 1996 .

[18]  T. Suda,et al.  Molecular Communication among Nanomachines Using Vesicles , 2006 .

[19]  Ron Weiss,et al.  Genetic circuit building blocks for cellular computation, communications, and signal processing , 2003, Natural Computing.

[20]  Giuseppa Alfano,et al.  On Information Transmission Among Nanomachines , 2006, 2006 1st International Conference on Nano-Networks and Workshops.

[21]  E. A. Grachev,et al.  Role of network connectivity in intercellular calcium signaling , 2008 .

[22]  E. A. Grachev,et al.  Role of mitochondria and network connectivity in intercellular calcium oscillations , 2005 .

[23]  V. Krutovskikh,et al.  Gap junction intercellular communication propagates cell death in cancerous cells , 2002, Oncogene.

[24]  R. Weiss,et al.  Programmed population control by cell–cell communication and regulated killing , 2004, Nature.

[25]  R Y Tsien,et al.  Calcium channels, stores, and oscillations. , 1990, Annual review of cell biology.

[26]  M. Bennett,et al.  New roles for astrocytes: Gap junction hemichannels have something to communicate , 2003, Trends in Neurosciences.

[27]  M. L. Simpson,et al.  Nano-enabled synthetic biology , 2007, Molecular systems biology.

[28]  T. Suda,et al.  Microplatform for intercellular communication , 2008, 2008 3rd IEEE International Conference on Nano/Micro Engineered and Molecular Systems.

[29]  R. Swanson,et al.  ATP‐induced ATP release from astrocytes , 2003, Journal of neurochemistry.

[30]  Thomas Höfer,et al.  Decoding of calcium oscillations by phosphorylation cycles: analytic results. , 2008, Biophysical journal.

[31]  K. Willecke,et al.  Specific permeability and selective formation of gap junction channels in connexin-transfected HeLa cells , 1995, The Journal of cell biology.

[32]  Tatsuya Suda,et al.  A design of a molecular communication system for nanomachines using molecular motors , 2006, Fourth Annual IEEE International Conference on Pervasive Computing and Communications Workshops (PERCOMW'06).

[33]  M. Kraus,et al.  Crosstalk between cellular morphology and calcium oscillation patterns. Insights from a stochastic computer model. , 1996, Cell calcium.

[34]  T. Suda,et al.  A Design of an Autonomous Molecule Loading/Transporting/Unloading System Using DNA Hybridization and Biomolecular Linear Motors , 2007, 0708.1839.

[35]  Chi-Hung Lin,et al.  Intercellular calcium waves mediate preferential cell growth toward the wound edge in polarized hepatic cells. , 2003, Experimental cell research.

[36]  Camillo Peracchia,et al.  Gap junctions : molecular basis of cell communication in health and disease , 2000 .

[37]  R Toral,et al.  Stochastic effects in intercellular calcium spiking in hepatocytes. , 2001, Journal of theoretical biology.

[38]  M. Berridge.  The AM and FM of calcium signalling , 1997, Nature.

[39]  J. Sneyd,et al.  A model for the propagation of intercellular calcium waves. , 1994, The American journal of physiology.

[40]  Peter Lipp,et al.  Calcium - a life and death signal , 1998, Nature.

[41]  James P. Keener,et al.  Propagation and its failure in coupled systems of discrete excitable cells , 1987 .

[42]  Joachim W. Deitmer,et al.  Calcium signalling in glial cells , 1998 .