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2007 CompTox Forum
Abstract - Computational and Experimental Analysis of Feedback Regulation in Signal Transduction Pathways
Timothy Elston, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
University of North Carolina
Department of Pharmacology
1139 Mary Ellen Jones, Chapel Hill, NC 27599
Phone: 919-843-7670
E-mail: telston@med.unc.edu
All living organisms can initiate distinct developmental programs depending on the presence of specific external cues. Such cues are used to regulate a variety of cellular behaviors including metabolism, gene expression, cell division, cell motility, differentiation, and death. Two common properties of signal transduction systems are that they often function transiently in the face of an unchanging initial stimulus and that distinct response pathways often share common downstream components. Despite the importance of temporal regulation in signaling, the underlying mechanisms leading to transient pathway activation and pathway specificity are often poorly understood. I will present two examples in which a combination of computational and experimental analysis is used to investigate the biochemical mechanisms that underlie pathway desensitization and specificity. The first example involves cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) dynamics stimulated by the β_2 -adrenergic receptor (β_2 AR) and the second focuses on the mating response pathway in yeast.