Mizutani Claudia Mieko, Nie Qing, Wan Frederic Y M, Zhang Yong-Tao, Vilmos Peter, Sousa-Neves Rui, Bier Ethan, Marsh J Lawrence, Lander Arthur D
Section of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA.
Dev Cell. 2005 Jun;8(6):915-24. doi: 10.1016/j.devcel.2005.04.009.
The dorsoventral axis of the Drosophila embryo is patterned by a gradient of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) ligands. In a process requiring at least three additional extracellular proteins, a broad domain of weak signaling forms and then abruptly sharpens into a narrow dorsal midline peak. Using experimental and computational approaches, we investigate how the interactions of a multiprotein network create the unusual shape and dynamics of formation of this gradient. Starting from observations suggesting that receptor-mediated BMP degradation is an important driving force in gradient dynamics, we develop a general model that is capable of capturing both subtle aspects of gradient behavior and a level of robustness that agrees with in vivo results.
果蝇胚胎的背腹轴是由骨形态发生蛋白（BMP）配体的梯度形成的。在一个至少需要另外三种细胞外蛋白的过程中，一个广泛的弱信号域形成，然后突然锐化为一个狭窄的背中线峰值。我们使用实验和计算方法，研究多蛋白网络的相互作用如何产生这种梯度形成的异常形状和动态。从表明受体介导的BMP降解是梯度动态的重要驱动力的观察结果出发，我们开发了一个通用模型，该模型能够捕捉梯度行为的细微方面以及与体内结果一致的稳健性水平。
