A cellular automaton model of cellular signal transduction

On the basis of cellular automata models, a software specifically tailored to model biochemical reactions involved in cellular signal transduction was implemented on a personal computer. Recent data regarding desensitization processes in mouse Leydig cells are used to simulate the underlying reactions of signal transduction. Pretreatment of real Leydig cells with different molecules results in a modification of the signal transduction cascade leading to a diminished response of the cells during subsequent stimulations. The model is capable of simulating the complex behavior of this intracellular second messenger production in a qualitative and semi-quantitative way. The results indicate that quantitative simulations on a molecular level will be possible once appropriate computer hardware is available. The simulations and results of the cellular automaton presented are easily described and comprehended, which make it a useful tool that will facilitate research in cellular signal transduction and other fields covering complex reaction networks.

[1]  Ph.D. James E. A. McIntosh M.A.,et al.  Mathematical Modelling and Computers in Endocrinology , 1980, Monographs on Endocrinology.

[2]  H. Gutowitz.  Cellular automata: theory and experiment : proceedings of a workshop , 1991 .

[3]  X. Zheng,et al.  A cellular automaton model of cancerous growth. , 1993, Journal of theoretical biology.

[4]  James Reggia.  Book review: Cellular Automata: Theory and Experiment Edited by Howard Gutowitz (MIT Press) , 1992, SGAR.

[5]  J. Ostlund,et al.  Simulation of HIV-infection in artificial immune systems , 1990 .

[6]  M. Houslay.  The use of selective inhibitors and computer modelling to evaluate the role of specific high affinity cyclic AMP phosphodiesterases in the hormonal regulation of hepatocyte intracellular cyclic AMP concentrations. , 1990, Cellular signalling.

[7]  J. Saez.  Leydig cells: endocrine, paracrine, and autocrine regulation. , 1994, Endocrine reviews.

[8]  Tommaso Toffoli,et al.  Cellular Automata Machines , 1987, Complex Syst..

[9]  Tommaso Toffoli,et al.  Cellular automata machines - a new environment for modeling , 1987, MIT Press series in scientific computation.

[10]  N. Margolus,et al.  Programmable Matter: Concepts and Realization , 1991, International journal of high speed computing.

[11]  M. Schumacher,et al.  Maximal steroidogenic capacity of mouse leydig cells , 1979, FEBS letters.

[12]  S. Swillens,et al.  Computer simulation of a cytosolic calcium oscillator. , 1990, The Biochemical journal.

[13]  M. Schumacher,et al.  Inhibition of hCG‐stimulated adenylate cyclase in purified mouse Leydig cells by the phorbol ester PMA , 1985, FEBS letters.

[14]  J A Reggia,et al.  Simple Systems That Exhibit Self-Directed Replication , 1993, Science.

[15]  M. Schumacher,et al.  Desensitization of the cAMP system in mouse Leydig cells by hCG, cholera toxin, dibutyryl cAMP and cAMP: localization of the ‘lesion’ to the guanine nucleotide regulatory protein-adenylate cyclase complex , 1984, Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology.

[16]  P. Wolf,et al.  Stimulus-induced critical point. Mechanism for electrical initiation of reentry in normal canine myocardium. , 1989, The Journal of clinical investigation.