Dynamics and Sensitivity of Signaling Pathways

TL;DR

This paper reviews how modeling signaling pathways can help identify key biochemical parameters and therapeutic targets, aiding in cancer treatment development.

Contribution

It highlights the importance of signaling pathway models in identifying control points and potential drug targets for diseases like cancer.

Findings

Modeling can identify controlling biochemical parameters.

Signaling pathways are crucial in cancer progression.

Models assist in drug target identification.

Abstract

Signaling pathways serve to communicate information about extracellular conditions into the cell, to both the nucleus and cytoplasmic processes to control cell responses. Genetic mutations in signaling network components are frequently associated with cancer and can result in cells acquiring an ability to divide and grow uncontrollably. Because signaling pathways play such a significant role in cancer initiation and advancement, their constituent proteins are attractive therapeutic targets. In this review, we discuss how signaling pathway modeling can assist with identifying effective drugs for treating diseases, such as cancer. An achievement that would facilitate the use of such models is their ability to identify controlling biochemical parameters in signaling pathways, such as molecular abundances and chemical reaction rates, because this would help determine effective points of attack by therapeutics.