Example: IkB-NF-kB Interaction Signaling

The IkB-NF-kB interaction signaling process has been modeled. Nuclear localization of the transcriptional activator NF-kB (nuclear factor kB) is controlled in mammalian cells by three isoforms of NF-kB inhibitor protein: IkBα, -β, and -ε. Based on simplifying reductions of the IkB-NF-kB signaling module in knockout cell lines, the authors [1] developed a computational model that describes the temporal control of NF-kB activation by the coordinated degradation and synthesis of IkB proteins. We have represented that model in SigTran and JSIM for comparative deterministic analysis and we have also represented the model in a manner that allows stochastic analysis of relatively small numbers of reactant molecules.

[1] Hoffmann,A., Levchenko, A., Scott, M.L. and Baltimore, D. (2002), The IkB-NF-KB signaling module : Temporal control and selective gene activation, Science, Vol: 298, No:8, 2002