Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Signal and System01:26

Signal and System

A signal x(t) is a set of data or a time function representing a variable of interest. Signals typically convey information about a phenomenon, such as atmospheric temperature, humidity, human voice, television images, a dog's bark, or birdsongs. More generally, a signal can be a function of more than one independent variable. For instance, images depend on horizontal and vertical positions and can be regarded as two-dimensional signals. However, this text will focus on one-dimensional signals...
Overview of Cell Signaling01:23

Overview of Cell Signaling

Despite the protective membrane that separates a cell from the environment, cells need the ability to detect and respond to environmental changes. Additionally, cells often need to communicate with one another. Unicellular and multicellular organisms use a variety of cell signaling mechanisms to communicate with the environment.
Cells respond to many types of information, often through receptor proteins positioned on the membrane. For example, skin cells respond to and transmit touch...
Overview of Cell Signaling01:23

Overview of Cell Signaling

Despite the protective membrane that separates a cell from the environment, cells need the ability to detect and respond to environmental changes. Additionally, cells often need to communicate with one another. Unicellular and multicellular organisms use a variety of cell signaling mechanisms to communicate with the environment.
Cells respond to many types of information, often through receptor proteins positioned on the membrane. For example, skin cells respond to and transmit touch...
Assembly of Signaling Complexes01:30

Assembly of Signaling Complexes

Multiprotein signaling complexes are formed in a dynamic process involving protein-protein interactions at the cytoplasmic domain of transmembrane receptors or enzymatic and non-enzymatic proteins associated with the receptor. These complexes ensure the activation and propagation of intracellular signals that regulate cell functions.
Interaction domains in cell signaling
Interaction domains recognize exposed features of their binding partners containing post-translationally modified sequences,...
Interactions Between Signaling Pathways01:19

Interactions Between Signaling Pathways

Signaling cascades usually lack linearity. Multiple pathways interact and regulate one another, allowing cells to integrate and respond to diverse environmental stimuli.
Convergence and divergence, and cross-talk between signaling pathways
Two distinct signaling pathways can converge on a single functional unit, which may either be a single protein or a complex of proteins. The response is either functionally distinct or synergistic between the two pathways but different from the response...
Types of Signaling Molecules01:32

Types of Signaling Molecules

In multicellular organisms, many molecules transmit signals between cells to pass information. These signals vary in complexity and include small peptides, nucleotides, steroids, fatty acid derivatives, and dissolved gases such as nitric oxide. Some signaling molecules diffuse through the plasma membrane to act locally between neighboring cells or travel long distances. Others remain attached to the cell surface, transmitting information to other cells only when they make contact. In some...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Stochastic modeling of epigenetic memory.

NPJ systems biology and applications·2026
Same author

Resource competition shapes CRISPR-mediated gene activation.

Cell systems·2026
Same author

What problem do you hope bioengineering or synthetic biology approaches will enable us to tackle in the next decade?

Cell systems·2026
Same author

Reversing transgene silencing via targeted chromatin editing.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2025
Same author

Coclique level structure for stochastic chemical reaction networks.

Journal of mathematical biology·2025
Same author

Epigenetic memory: The role of the crosstalk between histone modifications and DNA methylation.

Computational and structural biotechnology journal·2025
Same journal

Quantitative models of photoreceptor metabolisms: implications for rod outer segment length, retinal glycolysis and choroidal blood flow.

Physical biology·2026
Same journal

Mechanical interactions govern self-organized ordering in bacterial colonies on surfaces.

Physical biology·2026
Same journal

Robust chemotaxis beyond sensing limits: signal, noise, and strategy.

Physical biology·2026
Same journal

Ecological dynamics of pro-tumor and anti-tumor teams in the tumor microenvironment.

Physical biology·2026
Same journal

Swarms of female<i>Anopheles gambiae</i>mosquitoes may fracture when perturbed.

Physical biology·2026
Same journal

How exercise scheduling affects IL-6-mediated tumor suppression: a fixed exercise volume perspective.

Physical biology·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 19, 2026

The Power of Simplicity: Sea Urchin Embryos as in Vivo Developmental Models for Studying Complex Cell-to-cell Signaling Network Interactions
07:34

The Power of Simplicity: Sea Urchin Embryos as in Vivo Developmental Models for Studying Complex Cell-to-cell Signaling Network Interactions

Published on: February 16, 2017

Modularity in signaling systems.

Domitilla Del Vecchio1

  • 1Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems, Department of Mechanical Engineering, MIT, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. ddv@mit.edu

Physical Biology
|August 9, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Biological signaling systems are not perfectly modular due to retroactivity, which affects module behavior upon interconnection. While evolved mechanisms counter this, retroactivity can also be harnessed for precise information processing control.

More Related Videos

Mimicking the Function of Signaling Proteins: Toward Artificial Signal Transduction Therapy
12:24

Mimicking the Function of Signaling Proteins: Toward Artificial Signal Transduction Therapy

Published on: September 29, 2016

Spatiotemporal Control of Protein Activity through Optogenetic Allosteric Regulation
08:00

Spatiotemporal Control of Protein Activity through Optogenetic Allosteric Regulation

Published on: October 4, 2024

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 19, 2026

The Power of Simplicity: Sea Urchin Embryos as in Vivo Developmental Models for Studying Complex Cell-to-cell Signaling Network Interactions
07:34

The Power of Simplicity: Sea Urchin Embryos as in Vivo Developmental Models for Studying Complex Cell-to-cell Signaling Network Interactions

Published on: February 16, 2017

Mimicking the Function of Signaling Proteins: Toward Artificial Signal Transduction Therapy
12:24

Mimicking the Function of Signaling Proteins: Toward Artificial Signal Transduction Therapy

Published on: September 29, 2016

Spatiotemporal Control of Protein Activity through Optogenetic Allosteric Regulation
08:00

Spatiotemporal Control of Protein Activity through Optogenetic Allosteric Regulation

Published on: October 4, 2024

Area of Science:

  • Systems Biology
  • Control Theory
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Modularity is key to understanding complex systems by analyzing constituent subsystems.
  • The question of whether biological systems exhibit true modularity remains a significant debate.
  • Signaling systems, composed of structural modules like covalent modification cycles, are central to biological function.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the principle of modularity in biological signaling systems from a control theory perspective.
  • To determine if signaling systems, despite structural modularity, maintain behavioral modularity upon interconnection.
  • To explore the role and implications of retroactivity in biological signaling.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of biological signaling systems through the lens of control system theory.
  • Identification and examination of 'retroactivity' as an impedance-like effect at module interconnections.
  • Review of evolutionary strategies to mitigate retroactivity and enforce modularity.

Main Results:

  • Signaling systems, while structurally modular, generally do not exhibit behavioral modularity due to retroactivity.
  • Retroactivity, analogous to impedance effects in engineering, alters the behavior of interconnected signaling modules.
  • Biological systems have evolved mechanisms to counteract retroactivity, yet retroactivity can be exploited for fine-tuning information processing.

Conclusions:

  • True modularity is not a general property of biological signaling systems.
  • Retroactivity presents a fundamental challenge to modularity but also offers opportunities for regulatory control.
  • Understanding retroactivity is crucial for both theoretical insights and practical applications in synthetic biology.