Computer simulation of differential kinetics of MAPK activation upon EGF receptor overexpression

Everyday cells encounter various stimuli ranging from growth signals to bacterial infections to UV insult to death signals. They must somehow receive these signals, interpret them, integrate different stimuli, and generate the required output. They can do so by an intricate mechanism named intracellular signal transduction. There are various signal transduction pathways within a cell, each of which are designed for a particular stimulus, and all of which can crosstalk among themselves for the careful integration of all stimuli. In this report, only one of these pathways, the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway has been simulated. This pathway is activated upon binding of growth factors to their respective cell surface-bound receptors. Activated receptors relay the incoming signal to the cell interior via a cascade of proteins, which are thought to be involved in both the amplification of the signal, and the specificity of the pathway. A generic MAPK pathway activated by the EGF (epidermal growth factor) and the effect of receptor overexpression has been studied, and consistent with experimental evidence, it is shown that the number of EGF receptors on the cell surface is a key factor in the response generated by the pathway.