Cell surface receptors for signal transduction and ligand transport: a design principles study.

Abstract

Receptors constitute the interface of cells to their external environment. These molecules bind specific ligands involved in multiple processes, such as signal transduction and nutrient transport. Although a variety of cell surface receptors undergo endocytosis, the systems-level design principles that govern the evolution of receptor trafficking dynamics are far from fully understood. We have constructed a generalized mathematical model of receptor-ligand binding and internalization to understand how receptor internalization dynamics encodes receptor function and regulation. A given signaling or transport receptor system represents a particular implementation of this module with a specific set of kinetic parameters. Parametric analysis of the response of receptor systems to ligand inputs reveals that receptor systems can be characterized as being: i) avidity-controlled where the response control depends primarily on the extracellular ligand capture efficiency, ii) consumption-controlled where the ability to internalize surface-bound ligand is the primary control parameter, and iii) dual-sensitivity where both the avidity and consumption parameters are important. We show that the transferrin and low-density lipoprotein receptors are avidity-controlled, the vitellogenin receptor is consumption-controlled, and the epidermal growth factor receptor is a dual-sensitivity receptor. Significantly, we show that ligand-induced endocytosis is a mechanism to enhance the accuracy of signaling receptors rather than merely serving to attenuate signaling. Our analysis reveals that the location of a receptor system in the avidity-consumption parameter space can be used to understand both its function and its regulation.