Eukaryotic Signal Transduction Pathways And Man-Made Systems Compared
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EUKARYOTIC SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION PATHWAYS AND MAN-MADE SYSTEMS COMPARED HAGAN BAYLEY Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology. 222 Maple Avenue, Shrewsbury, MA 01545
ABSTRACT The components of biological signal transduction pathways have been compared with those of electronic circuits. Indeed, attempts are being made to incorporate biomolecules into electronic devices. However, man-made biomolecular devices do not yet mimic several important features of naturally occurring systems, especially those of eukaryotes. It is well known that the polypeptide components of biological signal transduction pathways include subunits of receptors, regulatory proteins, enzymes and channels. It is less well appreciated that each component often exists in many functionally related but not redundant forms. When proteins are hetero-oligomers, numerous combinations of these forms may be permitted yielding large arrays of signal transduction molecules with overlapping properties. Further, the organization of these molecules within the cell Is highly complex. Especially alien to the materials scientist are the findings that signal transductlon proteins can translocate between regions of cells in response to stimuli and change in concentration as a consequence of breakdown and resynthesis. These features, as well as the interactions between signal transduction pathways, produce far more complex and fluid signalling networks than those presently used in man-made devices. Is anything to be gained by mimicking such complexity or are we on the right track in designing relatively simple, structurally rigid devices using biomolecular components? INTRODUCTION Materials scientists and workers in related areas are attempting to use native or modified biological components In new materials and devices, or to learn from nature and make biomimetic structures. Current work encompasses the development of structural components. such as glues and silks (41,43), including those that respond to changes In their physical environment or even to reversible enzymatic modification (32). active molecules such as genetically or chemically modified enzymes (24,33A45), antibodies (25) and pores (3), and devices for transducing signals (19) and for harvesting energy (18,19). In addition to their structural or functional properties, an important aspect of many biologically-derived or biomimetic materials is their ability to self-assemble (44). Work in this area is often, perhaps wisely, based on little more than a textbook understanding of the biological processes upon which the studies are founded. In this short review, I focus on one aspect of biology that materials scientists are attempting to mimic: biological signal transduction. For example, bacteriorhodopsin, a light-driven proton pump from Halobacterium halobium, is being used to detect changes in light levels, pH and salt concentration (19) and neural networks are being mimicked in parallel processors (14,39). Biological signal transduction is far more complex than is generally appreciated. Part of this
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