title: Current challenges in quantitative modeling of epidermal growth factor signaling.
abstract: Over the last decade, epidermal growth factor (EGF) signaling has been used repeatedly as a test-bed for pioneering computational systems biology. Recent breakthroughs in our molecular understanding of EGF signaling pose new challenges for mathematical modeling strategies. Three key areas emerge as particularly relevant: the pervasive importance of compartmentalization and endosomal trafficking; the complexity of signalosome complexes; and the regulatory influence of diffusion and spatiality. Each one of them demands a drastic change in current computational approaches. We discuss recent developments in the field that address these emerging aspects in a new generation of more realistic - and potential more useful - models of EGF signaling.
authors.affiliation: Groningen Bioinformatics Centre, University of Groningen, Kerklaan 30, 9751 NN Haren, The Netherlands. r.breitling@rug.nl
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Breitling
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hoeller
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019295:Computational Biology; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor