Signal focusing through active transport.
The accuracy of molecular signaling in biological cells and novel diagnostic devices is ultimately limited by the counting noise floor imposed by the thermal diffusion. Motivated by the fact that messenger RNA and vesicle-engulfed signaling molecules transiently bind to molecular motors and are actively transported in biological cells, we show here that the random active delivery of signaling particles to within a typical diffusion distance to the receptor generically reduces the correlation time of the counting noise. Considering a variety of signaling particle sizes from mRNA to vesicles and cell sizes from prokaryotic to eukaryotic cells, we show that the conditions for active focusing-faster and more precise signaling-are indeed compatible with observations in living cells. Our results improve the understanding of molecular cellular signaling and novel diagnostic devices.
Institute of Physics & Astronomy, University of Potsdam, D-14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany.|Laboratory for Molecular Modeling, National Institute of Chemistry, Hajdrihova 19, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Aljaž
A
Godec
Institute of Physics & Astronomy, University of Potsdam, D-14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany.|Department of Physics, Tampere University of Technology, FI-33101 Tampere, Finland.
Ralf
R
Metzler
D001693:Biological Transport, Active; D048429:Cell Size; D004058:Diffusion; D008954:Models, Biological; D010316:Particle Size; D011506:Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D022142:Secretory Vesicles / Q000378:metabolism; D014780:Viruses / Q000378:metabolism
D011506:Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger