title: Noise enhanced hormonal signal transduction through intracellular calcium oscillations.
abstract: In a wide range of non-linear dynamical systems, noise may enhance the detection of weak deterministic input signals. Here, we demonstrate this phenomenon for transmembrane signaling in a hormonal model system of intracellular Ca(2+) oscillations. Adding Gaussian noise to a subthreshold extracellular pulsatile stimulus increased the sensitivity in the dose-response relation of the Ca(2+) oscillations compared to the same noise signal added as a constant mean level. These findings may have important physiological consequences for the operation of hormonal and other physiological signal transduction systems close to the threshold level.
authors: Computational Endocrinology Group, Department of Clinical Endocrinology, Medical School Hannover, D-30623 Hannover, Germany.
authors: L
authors: L
authors: Läer
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Kloppstech
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Schöfl
authors: T J
authors: TJ
authors: Sejnowski
authors: G
authors: G
authors: Brabant
authors: K
authors: K
authors: Prank
mesh_terms: D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D006728:Hormones / Q000378:metabolism*; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D006728:Hormones; D002118:Calcium