Quantum walks and signal transduction pathways

TL;DR

This paper explores the potential of quantum walks to model and understand the efficiency of signal transduction pathways in cellular processes, offering a novel perspective on how proteins locate specific kinases rapidly.

Contribution

It proposes a new approach using quantum walks to explain the speed and specificity of signal transduction pathways in cells.

Findings

Quantum walks could explain rapid kinase targeting.

Quantum models may improve understanding of cellular signaling.

Potential for new quantum-inspired biological algorithms.

Abstract

Signal transduction pathways recover a crucial role in cellular processes: they represent a connection between environmental conditions and cellular reactions. There are many pathways and they all are related to create a network. But how can every protein find the right way more fast than possible? How can it find the right down-streaming kinase in the cellular sea and not another very similar kinase? Every signal transduction pathway can be seen as two distincted processes: the signal must reach every kinase and then it must travel through the enzyme until its active site: quantum walks could be the answer to both the questions.