Communication between and within cells is essential for multicellular life. While intracellular signal transduction pathways are often specified in molecular terms, the information content they transmit remains poorly defined. Here, we review research efforts to merge biological experimentation with concepts of communication that emerge from the engineering disciplines of signal processing and control theory. We discuss the challenges of performing experiments that quantitate information transfer at the molecular level, and we highlight recent studies that have advanced toward a clearer definition of the information content carried by signaling molecules. Across these studies, we emphasize a theme of increasingly well-matched experimental and theoretical approaches to decode the data streams directing cellular behavior.
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October 2018
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Cover Image
This issue of Essays in Biochemistry provides an overview of current research at the interface of the disciplines of biochemistry and systems biology and also looks ahead to future interactions. The cover image, based on Figure 2 in the systems biology primer article by Tavassoly et al., depicts the current computational methods used to analyze different types of high-throughput as well as small scale in-depth experimental data in systems biology. For further details, see pages 487-500.Close Modal
Review Article|
August 23 2018
Experimental and engineering approaches to intracellular communication
John G. Albeck;
1Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Davis, CA, U.S.A.
Correspondence: John G. Albeck (jgalbeck@ucdavis.edu)
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Michael Pargett;
Michael Pargett
1Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Davis, CA, U.S.A.
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Alexander E. Davies
Alexander E. Davies
1Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Davis, CA, U.S.A.
2Division of Biological Systems and Engineering, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.
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Essays Biochem (2018) 62 (4): 515–524.
Article history
Received:
June 05 2018
Revision Received:
August 10 2018
Accepted:
August 14 2018
Citation
John G. Albeck, Michael Pargett, Alexander E. Davies; Experimental and engineering approaches to intracellular communication. Essays Biochem 26 October 2018; 62 (4): 515–524. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/EBC20180024
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