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Pattern selection by dynamical biochemical signals
#MMPMID25809268
Palau-Ortin D
; Formosa-Jordan P
; Sancho JM
; Ibañes M
Biophys J
2015[Mar]; 108
(6
): 1555-1565
PMID25809268
show ga
The development of multicellular organisms involves cells to decide their fate
upon the action of biochemical signals. This decision is often spatiotemporally
coordinated such that a spatial pattern arises. The dynamics that drive pattern
formation usually involve genetic nonlinear interactions and positive feedback
loops. These complex dynamics may enable multiple stable patterns for the same
conditions. Under these circumstances, pattern formation in a developing tissue
involves a selection process: why is a certain pattern formed and not another
stable one? Herein we computationally address this issue in the context of the
Notch signaling pathway. We characterize a dynamical mechanism for developmental
selection of a specific pattern through spatiotemporal changes of the control
parameters of the dynamics, in contrast to commonly studied situations in which
initial conditions and noise determine which pattern is selected among multiple
stable ones. This mechanism can be understood as a path along the parameter space
driven by a sequence of biochemical signals. We characterize the selection
process for three different scenarios of this dynamical mechanism that can take
place during development: the signal either 1) acts in all the cells at the same
time, 2) acts only within a cluster of cells, or 3) propagates along the tissue.
We found that key elements for pattern selection are the destabilization of the
initial pattern, the subsequent exploration of other patterns determined by the
spatiotemporal symmetry of the parameter changes, and the speeds of the path
compared to the timescales of the pattern formation process itself. Each scenario
enables the selection of different types of patterns and creates these elements
in distinct ways, resulting in different features. Our approach extends the
concept of selection involved in cellular decision-making, usually applied to
cell-autonomous decisions, to systems that collectively make decisions through
cell-to-cell interactions.