A model for signal-relay adaptation in Dictyostelium discoideum. II. Analytical and numerical results (Q1072485)

This paper introduces several schemes in which internal calcium acts as an inhibitor of adenylate cyclase, and analyzes the dynamics of the biochemical networks proposed in part I of this paper, see the preceding review, Zbl 0586.92013. The network, based on the best available biochemical information for each of the component processes, reproduces and qualitatively explains the experimental results on signal relay and adaptation in the cellular slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum (Dd). The rate laws for the component steps are introduced and the mathematical model associated with the system is analyzed, the required parameters in the governing equations being estimated from a variety of sources and compared with those of Dd. The emphasis is on developing a qualitative understanding of how the interaction between the various processes produces the predicted dynamical behaviour. This understanding is greatly favoured by the use of response surfaces and the associated dynamic trajectories on them in the study of the adapting systems. Although there are certainly cell-specific variations, second-messenger control mechanisms similar to that in Dd are present in a wide range of systems, extending the applicability and the results of this investigation. For instance, the calcium-cyclic-nucleotide mediation of stimulus-response adaptation appears to be an evolutionary conserved control strategy.