Effect of cyto/chemokine degradation in effective intercellular communication distances

Many complex biological processes such as cell differentiation, cell proliferation, and cell motility are governed by cell signaling. This mode of intercellular communication is of paramount importance for tissue function and ultimately for entire organism. In intercellular communication cells secrete signaling molecules such as cyto/chemokines which diffuse through the surrounding medium and eventually bind to receptors on other cells whereby the signal transduction is completed. An accurate estimation of the effective communication distances and the time scale on which signaling takes place are important for the interpretation of cell and organ physiology and ultimately in the effective and efficient chemotactically driven tissue engineering. The present study uses a solitary cell model incorporating degradation of secreted molecules to estimate the effective communication distances and the time scale on which signaling takes place. We demonstrate through our model that in presence of degradation the effective communication distances are significantly reduced.