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(The FASEB Journal. 2000;14:2581-2588.)
© 2000 FASEB

Quantitation of signal transduction

STEFAN KRAUSS12 and MARTIN D. BRAND

Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge and MRC Dunn Human Nutrition Unit, Cambridge, U.K.

2Correspondence: Division of Endocrinology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, 99 Brookline Ave., Boston, MA 02215, USA. E-mail: skrauss{at}caregroup.harvard.edu


   ABSTRACT
TOP
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
MATERIALS AND METHODS
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
REFERENCES
 
Conventional qualitative approaches to signal transduction provide powerful ways to explore the architecture and function of signaling pathways. However, at the level of the complete system, they do not fully depict the interactions between signaling and metabolic pathways and fail to give a manageable overview of the complexity that is often a feature of cellular signal transduction. Here, we introduce a quantitative experimental approach to signal transduction that helps to overcome these difficulties. We present a quantitative analysis of signal transduction during early mitogen stimulation of lymphocytes, with steady-state respiration rate as a convenient marker of metabolic stimulation. First, by inhibiting various key signaling pathways, we measure their relative importance in regulating respiration. About 80% of the input signal is conveyed via identifiable routes: 50% through pathways sensitive to inhibitors of protein kinase C and MAP kinase and 30% through pathways sensitive to an inhibitor of calcineurin. Second, we quantify how each of these pathways differentially stimulates functional units of reactions that produce and consume a key intermediate in respiration: the mitochondrial membrane potential. Both the PKC and calcineurin routes stimulate consumption more strongly than production, whereas the unidentified signaling routes stimulate production more than consumption, leading to no change in membrane potential despite increased respiration rate. The approach allows a quantitative description of the relative importance of signal transduction pathways and the routes by which they activate a specific cellular process. It should be widely applicable.—Krauss, S., and Brand, M. D. Quantitation of signal transduction.


Key Words: energy metabolism • lymphocytes • metabolic control analysis • mitogenic activation


   INTRODUCTION
TOP
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
MATERIALS AND METHODS
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
REFERENCES
 
THE ROLE OF signal transduction in the regulation of cellular processes is far from understood. Current literature places an emphasis on the qualitative relationships between signal transduction pathways and the cellular processes that they are designed to regulate. For example, qualitative approaches address the identification and signal transduction mechanisms of the various proteins involved in increasing the expression of a specific gene when a plasma membrane receptor is stimulated by a ligand. However, the quantitative importance of different signaling routes is often not documented or is only addressed in theoretical studies (1 2 3) .

Signaling systems display a high degree of complexity, and it seems difficult, if not impossible, to understand signal transfer in biological systems on a systemic level. For instance, it is not clear how the same receptor may induce separate responses under different conditions (4) . Moreover, despite the multitude of signaling processes that are initiated during stimulation of cells, cellular responses often appear finely tuned (5) , providing evidence that there must be mechanisms of intracellular signal processing to prevent overdiversification of biological responses. Such filtering may leave just a few pathways whose activation is causally related to a particular cellular response.

Metabolic control analysis is a theoretical framework that has facilitated quantitative, precise statements about regulation and control in metabolic pathways (6) . It is founded on rigorously developed theory and has produced many useful practical applications in experimental systems. It is able to deal with systems of any complexity or architecture, and it should therefore be possible to apply it to cellular signal transduction. In this paper we present an experimental approach to signal transduction based on the concepts of metabolic control analysis. We use the simple and robust model system of mitogenic activation of energy metabolism in thymocytes.

Living cells require energy to maintain cellular integrity and basal metabolic functions. Cellular energy metabolism has to be able to respond rapidly to changes in a cell’s status. To achieve this, cells need effective signaling networks that transmit external (or internal) stimuli so that the bioenergetic machinery responds appropriately. The regulation of energy metabolism is not simply a question of increased ATP demand (7 , 8) , so signals that lead to increases in respiration and ATP production are likely to have many intracellular targets.

Con A stimulation of thymocytes provides a simple model system in which to quantify signal transduction. Con A, a T cell mitogen, acts as polyclonal antigen and stimulates thymocyte steady-state respiration by 30–40% irrespective of antigen specificity (9) . This stimulation is stable over 25 min (10) , so the system changes from one pseudo steady state to another, allowing simpler experimental and theoretical analysis. Several signaling pathways are involved in the activation of T cells (11 , 12) . With respect to T cell activation, cell signaling is often discussed in the context of cytokine biosynthesis. However, most of the signal transduction processes activated on T cell stimulation will have a bearing on energy metabolism. The changes in thymocyte steady-state respiration caused by Con A are a result of a complex cascade of events, involving recognition of cell surface receptors, engagement of different signaling pathways, and the subsequent adjustment of process rates of cellular targets. Any quantitative description of regulation should be able to indicate the relative importance of each of the various signaling routes that trigger a change in respiration. In addition, each signaling pathway may have effects on several of the reactions that affect steady-state respiration. A quantitative description of regulation should also be able to indicate for each signaling route the relative importance of activation of different reactions in stimulating respiration. Finally, it should be possible to integrate all of the quantitative measurements into a single coherent overall picture of signal transduction.

One aim of this work is to show that it is possible and illuminating to measure the relative importance of different signaling pathways in a cell, and then to quantify roughly the way these signal pathways interact to regulate a designated cellular reaction. A second aim is to understand mitogenic activation of cellular respiration more fully.


   MATERIALS AND METHODS
TOP
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
MATERIALS AND METHODS
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
REFERENCES
 
The model
The model system used in our analysis was analyzed at two levels (Fig. 1 ). Figure 1A shows the basic level used to analyze the relative importance of different signaling pathways. The system consists of a cellular variable, thymocyte respiration, which is responsive to changes in the input level of the signal (Con A) that triggers T cell activation. Con A affects steady-state respiration via a number of signal transduction pathways, probably TCR-linked (13) . Here, we shall consider the following four signal routes: protein kinase C, the MAPK pathway, calcineurin, and a single block of unrelated unidentified pathways. These four pathways are each defined by inhibitor specificity; thus, we define the calcineurin pathway as the part of the signal that is inhibited by cypermethrin.



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Figure 1. The model systems analyzed in this paper. A) Mitogen stimulation of thymocyte respiration is depicted as a single white open arrow. Respiration is targeted by Con A via a number of signal transduction pathways. Analysis of the system should allow one to establish a topology of signal routes and to weight the arrows extending through the signal transduction intermediates (PKC, MAPK, calcineurin, and the unidentified pathways). B) The system depicted in panel A in modified form. Less signal transduction pathways are considered, but their interaction is studied with respect to two blocks of reactions that participate in respiration: the producers and the consumers of {Delta}{psi}m, the mitochondrial membrane potential. The responses of these target pathways to Con A via the considered signal transduction pathways can be determined using specific inhibitors of signal transduction (bisindolylmaleimide I and cypermethrin), electron transport (myxothiazol), and ATP synthesis (oligomycin) as shown in panel B and described in the text.

Figure 1B shows the extended level used to analyze the way each signaling pathway acts on each part of oxidative phosphorylation to give the overall stimulation. The system is simplified with respect to the number of signaling intermediates but extended to include blocks of reactions that produce or consume mitochondrial membrane potential, {Delta}{psi}m.

The relative importance of different signaling pathways: quantitative topology
Regulation of respiration by signal transduction pathways can be quantified using inhibitors of selected signaling pathways. We have chosen three pathways thought to play a pivotal role in T cell stimulation and for which specific inhibitors are available, including PKC, the MAPK pathway, and calcineurin. Although interpretation is easier if inhibitors with absolute specificity are used, this is not strictly necessary, as the signaling pathways are defined by the specificity of the inhibitors used. By using inhibitors alone and in combinations and measuring their effects on the Con A-induced increase in respiration, we can work out how much of the signal passes through each inhibitable pathway and which pathways overlap. Thus a quantitative topology can be established.

Basic concepts of metabolic control analysis
The central concepts in metabolic control analysis are represented by three coefficients. They are control, elasticity, and response coefficients (for more detailed descriptions and further references, see ref 6 ). A flux control coefficient quantifies the amount of control that a step or a block of reactions exerts on a pathway flux. It normally assumes values between 0 (no control) and 1 (total control). Elasticity coefficients are more central to the work described here. They describe how a step in a pathway or a block of steps vary with the concentration of a metabolite that affects it (either a metabolic intermediate or an effector external to the system). Variations in an intermediate or an external effector will cause steps that are sensitive to their levels to change (as quantified by the elasticities), and this effect will be relayed through a metabolic network according to the control that the steps within the network exert on the network fluxes. Such adjustments in response to internal or external effectors are quantified by response coefficients.

The extended level of analysis: regulation of processes producing and consuming a bioenergetic intermediate- mitochondrial membrane potential
We can analyze how strongly each signaling pathway affects respiration through the two blocks of reactions that produce or consume {Delta}{psi}m. To do this we multiply the effect of the signaling pathway on each block (IE) by the control exerted by the block over respiration rate (C), using two equations given in ref 14


where IE is the integrated elasticity of block i to the step change in effector ({Delta}q), {Delta}Ji/Ji is the fractional change in the rate of block i, is the elasticity of block i to intermediate x, {Delta}x/x is the fractional change in x, IR is the integrated response of variable a to {Delta}q, and C is the control coefficient of i over process a. The integrated elasticity (equation 1) quantifies the direct modulation of a block by a step change in effector q, which here is the action of a signaling pathway. The term ‘integrated’ reflects the fact that large changes in flux are achieved as a result of manipulation of signal transduction pathways (14) . To determine the response of respiration to the change in each signaling pathway activity, we can use equation 2 , which states that the response of the system is the sum of the weighted change in activity of each block as a result of the parameter change. The weighting factor is the control coefficient of the block over respiration.

Thus, the total response can be partitioned into individual effects that the parameter change has on the subsystems or blocks. Assume, for instance, that Con A affects respiration through PKC by acting on the {Delta}{psi}m producers and the {Delta}{psi}m consumers. Starting from a stimulated state, the following analysis could be made. Measure the effect of addition of a PKC inhibitor on respiration and {Delta}{psi}m. In separate experiments, determine the elasticities of each of the blocks to {Delta}{psi}m by a suitable method (e.g., performing titrations with myxothiazol or oligomycin) (10) (see Fig. 3 : the elasticities of the blocks to the intermediate in the stimulated state are given by scaling the slopes of lines 1 and 2 in panel A). Correct for the indirect effects of the PKC signal on each block through changes in mitochondrial potential by calculating the integrated elasticity of each block to the PKC signal using equation 1 . The control coefficients of the blocks over respiration can be determined from the elasticities to {Delta}{psi}m as described in ref 15 . With these data, the response of respiration to Con A via PKC can be determined and broken down into partial integrated responses via each of the blocks using equation 2 . There are assumptions made in the calculation of the partial responses that were discussed in detail in ref 14 .



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Figure 3. Kinetics of {Delta}{psi}m-producing and {Delta}{psi}m-consuming pathways in Con A-stimulated thymocytes in the presence of inhibitors of PKC and calcineurin. Thymocytes were stimulated with 20 µg Con A per 5 x 107 cells and partially inhibited with myxothiazol (lines 1) or oligomycin (lines 2) to establish the kinetics of the {Delta}{psi}m consumers and {Delta}{psi}m producers to {Delta}{psi}m (filled squares in panels AC). The activity of these subsystems was measured in units of oxygen consumption. In parallel experiments, cells were pretreated with inhibitors of either PKC, calcineurin, or both (open circles in panels AC, respectively) as described in Materials and Methods, and the same titrations with myxothiazol and oligomycin were performed. The open squares in panels AC represent myxothiazol and oligomycin-titrations in quiescent cells—these were titrated in separate experiments with a control where Con A was present. Thus, the set of results shown in panels AC is a composite. Values are presented as means ± SE for 5–14 experiments.

Isolation and incubation of cells
Small thymocytes were isolated from female white Wistar rats (4–8 wk old). Animals were killed by cervical dislocation. The thymus was removed, immediately transferred and washed in 10 ml RPMI 1640 medium/1% FCS, and pressed through a nylon mesh into 3 ml of RPMI 1640 medium/1% FCS. The crude cell suspension was allowed to stand for a few minutes, and small thymocytes were retrieved by density gradient centrifugation as described in ref 16 . The final cell density was 5 x 107 cells/ml. Cell incubation medium was RPMI 1640 with glutamine, without glucose (Sigma, St. Louis, Mo.). For density gradient centrifugation, RPMI 1640 medium with glutamine and glucose was used (ICN). Medium also contained NaHCO3 (25 mM), HEPES (10 mM), and gentamicin (20 µg/ml). Before use, media were filtered through 0.22 µm cellulose acetate discs (Millipore, Bedford, Mass.), and adjusted to pH 7.4 with 2.5M HCl.

Measurement of oxygen consumption and mitochondrial membrane potential
Thymocytes were transferred to 4-ml plastic vials mounted on submersible stirrers and kept at 37°C under 5% CO2/95% air. Cells were pretreated with inhibitors (as appropriate) as follows: Cypermethrin (2 µM, 30 min) to inhibit calcineurin (17) , bisindolylmaleimide I (1 µM, 30 min) to inhibit protein kinase C (18) , and PD 98059 (20 µM, 60 min) to inhibit MAPKK (19) . Twenty micrograms of Con A per 5 x 107 cells and, where appropriate, myxothiazol (8 nM) and oligomycin (2.5 ng/ml) were added to the cells. Oxygen consumption was measured in Clarke-type electrodes and {Delta}{psi}m was determined using [3H]TPMP+ as described in ref 10 .

Statistical analysis
Respiration and membrane potential values were normalized for every preparation to an appropriate reference (quiescent or stimulated respiration), and data from different preparations were expressed as means ± SE. Because the raw data were used more than once in the calculations, and the errors in the calculated coefficients were not normally distributed, there were no obvious simple statistical tests that could be used to give a quantitative statement about the reliability of the final results. Therefore, we used Monte Carlo analysis to assess significance of values of responses to Con A via particular signaling pathways (see refs 10 , 20 ). P1 values were assigned to indicate how many simulated values in the distribution for a particular response had the opposite sign to the one calculated directly from averaged data. In a similar way, ~P2 values were used to express the significance of the difference between two values.


   RESULTS
TOP
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
MATERIALS AND METHODS
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
REFERENCES
 
The relative importance of different signaling pathways: quantitative topology
The respiration rate of unstimulated cells was 5.9 ± 0.7 (SE, n=10) nmol O2/min per 5 x 107 cells. In the presence of 20 µg Con A per 5 x 107 cells, respiration increased to 7.6 ± 0.9 nmol O2/min per 5 x 107 cells, a stimulation of ~30%.

The effects of inhibiting signal transduction pathways on respiration in Con A-stimulated thymocytes are shown in Figure 2 . Inhibition of PKC, MAPKK, or calcineurin depressed the stimulation by Con A to different degrees. PKC inhibition suggests that it carries ~55% of the signal. Pathways related to the MAPK cascade and calcineurin showed slightly weaker contributions (~40 and 30%, respectively). However, the signal reduction achieved by combining the three inhibitors was ~80% (Fig. 2A ). This is inconsistent with an independent role of all three intermediates in transmitting the signal.



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Figure 2. Establishing the weighted topology. A, B) Thymocytes were pretreated with inhibitors of signal transduction as indicated (see text for details) and stimulated with Con A. In each experiment, the inhibition of Con A-stimulated respiration was expressed in percentage relative to a control experiment where inhibitors of signal transduction were absent. Values are means ± SE from five to seven experiments. C) The results from panels A and B translate into a weighted topology of signal transduction in the model system of Con A-stimulation of thymocyte respiration shown in Figure 1A . The numbers indicate how much a particular signaling pathway contributes to the Con A-induced increase in respiration.

Figure 2B shows effects on Con A-stimulated respiration of pairs of inhibitors. PKC and calcineurin together accounted for ~80% of the transmitted signal, which is close to the sum of individual effects (54 and 31%, respectively), suggesting that the two pathways are independent. Concomitant inhibition of the PKC and MAPK signaling pathways indicates that ~50% of the signal goes through these pathways. This is not significantly different from the signal through PKC alone, showing that the MAPK signal is entirely contained within the PKC pathway.

MAPK and calcineurin accounted for ~70% of the signal. Individual inhibition of these pathways indicates that they account for 40 and 30% of the Con A signal, respectively. Again, the sum is close to the combined effect that was observed when inhibitors were combined, suggesting independent pathways.

From these considerations, a weighted topological picture emerges (Fig. 2C ). About 54% of the signal is transmitted through the PKC pool of signaling intermediates. The MAPK pathway participates in the stimulatory event, but is downstream of PKC. Calcineurin mediates 30% of the signal transfer independently of the other systems. Less than 20% of the signal must be ascribed to unidentified signaling systems.

The relatively strong role of calcineurin in transducing the Con A signal was unexpected. One of calcineurin’s main roles is thought to be the dephosphorylation of NFAT (21 , 22) , and the high contribution to the increase in oxygen consumption rate during early stimulation is surprising. Cypermethrin might target other phosphatases or unidentified processes. However, there is growing evidence that calcineurin is linked to mitochondrial functions (23 , 24) , and the present result could point toward a role of calcineurin in bioenergetic mitochondrial activities that remains as yet obscure.

Extended system: how each signaling pathway acts on different parts of oxidative phosphorylation to give the overall stimulation
The results shown in Figure 3 were used to measure the effects of the PKC and calcineurin signaling pathways on different blocks of energy-transducing reactions so that we could calculate how the signals caused the observed stimulation of respiration. Results were normalized to the condition with Con A present (central filled squares), which therefore has respiration and mitochondrial membrane potential values of 100%. Relative to this point, quiescent cells (central open squares) respired at 77% but had the same mitochondrial potential. The inhibition of PKC and calcineurin (independently in Fig. 3A , B and in combination in Fig. 3C ) depressed respiration to intermediate values (central circles). In agreement with the results reported above, 50% of the response of oxygen consumption to Con A was via PKC (Fig. 3A ) and 27% was via calcineurin (Fig. 3B ).

Quiescent and stimulated cells had similar values of {Delta}{psi}m. When the PKC or calcineurin pathways were inhibited, {Delta}{psi}m was slightly (but not significantly) elevated compared with the stimulated reference value. This indicates that PKC and calcineurin might act to decrease {Delta}{psi}m during stimulation, implying that they may stimulate the consumers and/or inhibit the producers of {Delta}{psi}m slightly. If so, their effect is counteracted by unidentified pathways resulting in no change in {Delta}{psi}m between quiescent and activated cells.

Top-down elasticity analysis: transition from the quiescent to the stimulated state
Decrease of the mitochondrial potential by addition of myxothiazol (to inhibit electron transport) allowed measurement of the overall kinetic response of the {Delta}{psi}m-consuming pathways to {Delta}{psi}m under the different conditions in Figure 3 . In a similar way, increase of the mitochondrial potential by addition of oligomycin (an inhibitor of the ATP synthase, part of the {Delta}{psi}m-consuming pathways) allowed measurement of the overall kinetic response of the {Delta}{psi}m-producing pathways to {Delta}{psi}m (10 , 25) . The slopes of these relationships were used to calculate elasticity and control coefficients. The transition from the quiescent state (open squares in Fig. 3 ) to the stimulated (reference) state (filled squares) was characterized around the quiescent value of {Delta}{psi}m by the following two major effects: 1) the {Delta}{psi}m-consuming pathways were directly stimulated, because at any given potential their rate was higher with Con A present; and 2) the {Delta}{psi}m-producing pathways were directly stimulated, because their rate was also higher with Con A present.

As the potential did not change significantly when Con A was added, the direct stimulation of the producers was equal to the direct stimulation of the consumers, leading to no change in {Delta}{psi}m at this concentration of Con A. It is also apparent that the elasticity of the {Delta}{psi}m-producers to {Delta}{psi}m increased in the presence of Con A (i.e., the slope of line 2 was steeper in the stimulated condition).

Effect of the inhibitors bisindolylmaleimide I and cypermethrin
When thymocytes were pretreated with inhibitors of PKC or MAPKK, the kinetic profiles of the {Delta}{psi}m-producing and consuming blocks changed during stimulation. Figure 3A shows that, in the presence of bisindolylmaleimide I, the consumers (line 1, open circles) were depressed compared with the stimulated reference state (filled squares), but the {Delta}{psi}m-producers (line 2, open circles) were unchanged. Pretreatment of thymocytes with cypermethrin to inhibit calcineurin (Fig. 3B ) allows similar conclusions: the consumers (line 1, open circles) were depressed compared with the stimulated reference state (filled squares). The {Delta}{psi}m-producers (line 2, open circles) were unchanged or may even have been stimulated. When both bisindolylmaleimide I and cypermethrin were present (Fig. 3C ), a strong inhibitory effect on the consumers was apparent (line 1, open circles), but it is unclear whether the {Delta}{psi}m-producers (line 2, open circles) were different from the stimulated reference state. We conclude that the {Delta}{psi}m-consumers are stimulated by PKC and calcineurin, in comparison the {Delta}{psi}m-producers are probably unaffected or maybe slightly inhibited through these signaling pathways.

The importance of the remaining unidentified pathways becomes evident from the transition between the quiescent state (open squares) and state with Con A, bisindolylmaleimide I and cypermethrin present (open circles in Fig. 3C ). Both the {Delta}{psi}m-producing and {Delta}{psi}m-consuming blocks were stimulated by these unidentified pathways, but the stimulation of the {Delta}{psi}m-consuming reactions may not have been significant. The {Delta}{psi}m-producers were stimulated significantly compared with the quiescent state and were stimulated significantly more than the {Delta}{psi}m-consumers.

Flux control coefficients of the {Delta}{psi}m-producing and consuming blocks of reactions
The elasticities of the {Delta}{psi}m-producing and consuming blocks to {Delta}{psi}m were measured from Figure 3 and used to calculate the flux control coefficients of the two blocks over respiration. These coefficients describe how strongly each block controls respiration rate (15) . Respiration was largely controlled by the {Delta}{psi}m-consumers (control coefficients 0.6–0.9 under all conditions) with less control exerted by the {Delta}{psi}m producers (control coefficients 0.1–0.4). These values were then used in Equation 2 to calculate the partial integrated responses that describe how strongly the different signaling pathways activate respiration by acting on each of the reaction blocks.

PKC and Con A stimulation of thymocyte respiration
Figure 4A shows the partial integrated responses that quantify how PKC contributes to the stimulation of respiration. The signal through PKC (50% of the total Con A signal) is partitioned into two unequal subsignals. Most of the PKC signal acts on respiration rate directly through the {Delta}{psi}m-consuming block, and little or none acts directly and independently through the {Delta}{psi}m-producing block. This is consistent with the observation (Fig. 3) that during PKC inhibition in stimulated cells, {Delta}{psi}m may increase slightly.



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Figure 4. Partitioning of the Con A signals through PKC and calcineurin. The subsignals through PKC (A) and calcineurin (B) were arbitrarily given a value equivalent to the width of the white boxes. They partition further into subsignals that affect the producers and consumers of {Delta}{psi}m independently. The colored arrows show the positive (green) or negative (red) responses of the subsystems to the fraction of the Con A stimulus that is transmitted through PKC or calcineurin. They are the partial integrated responses that were calculated from the data shown in Figure 3A , B as described in Materials and Methods. The ~P values give an indication of the confidence we can have in the values of the partial integrated responses, based on Monte-Carlo simulations (see Materials and Methods). For three of the four arrows, <5% of the simulated data had the opposite sign (~P1<0.05). The negative response of the {Delta}{psi}m-producers to Con A via PKC was not significantly different from zero. In any case, the ~P1 and ~P2 values show that the response of the {Delta}{psi}m-consumers to Con A via either PKC or calcineurin was positive and larger than the response of the {Delta}{psi}m-producers.

Calcineurin and Con A stimulation of thymocyte respiration
Fig. 4B shows how calcineurin contributes to the stimulation of respiration. Calcineurin conveys ~27% of the Con A stimulus. The signal via calcineurin has two components: a stimulatory effect on the consumers and a (smaller) inhibitory effect on the producers of {Delta}{psi}m. This is consistent with the observation (Fig. 3) that during calcineurin inhibition in stimulated cells, {Delta}{psi}m may increase slightly.

Unidentified pathways and Con A stimulation of thymocyte respiration
In principle, we can calculate the contribution of the unidentified pathways of signal transduction using the data in Figure 3 . Instead of measuring the effects of inhibition of PKC and calcineurin, we can calculate by difference the properties of the components that are insensitive to inhibition. Although calculation by difference is prone to several types of error and the conclusions are therefore not reliable, we found that these unidentified pathways stimulate the {Delta}{psi}m-producers more strongly than the consumers (26) .


   DISCUSSION
TOP
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
MATERIALS AND METHODS
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
REFERENCES
 
Figure 5 summarizes our conclusions and provides an approximate quantitative topology of the regulation of respiration in thymocytes by Con A. It shows the relative importance of different signaling pathways: PKC-related pathways carry ~54% of the Con A signal, calcineurin-related pathways carry ~30%, and unidentified signaling pathways carry the remainder. It also shows the interactions of these signaling mechanisms with metabolic reactions: the stimulatory effects of Con A on respiration acting through PKC and calcineurin mostly target the consumers of {Delta}{psi}m and the {Delta}{psi}m-producers are much less important targets. As the intermediate, mitochondrial membrane potential, does not change on Con A stimulation, the stimulatory effects of PKC and calcineurin working through the {Delta}{psi}m-consumers must be balanced by an approximately equal activation of the {Delta}{psi}m-producers by the unidentified pathways.



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Figure 5. Synoptic view of the results shown in Figures 2 and 4 . The graph incorporates the partitioning of the Con A signal into weighted subsignals as well as the partial integrated responses that describe the partitioning of these subsignals through particular pathways to modulate the steady-state activities of the {Delta}{psi}m -producers and {Delta}{psi}m-consumers. Note that the partitioning of the subsignal through the unidentified signaling pathways is an arbitrary choice based on the observation that {Delta}{psi}m does not change during Con A stimulation. The partitioning of the Con A signal at the level of the signal transduction intermediates was determined without correcting for the change in {Delta}{psi}m (unlike the partial integrated responses). Therefore, this synopsis serves as a semiquantitative guide only to the overall signaling topology.

Experimental control analyses have so far not considered signal transduction pathways. Signal transduction constitutes an important feature of biological systems: it provides the bridge between external stimuli and cellular reactions. However, signal transduction pathways are often extremely complex. Metabolic pathways can be viewed as a number of processes that interact via linking intermediates. They are characterized by mass exchange and are often at steady state. If an intermediate is changed (for instance by changing the kinetic properties of a block of reactions), the system will usually settle to a new steady state. For signaling pathways, however, it appears much more difficult to formulate such a clear conceptual view. Often, there is no mass exchange, and several systems that are characterized by different temporal and spatial aspects have superimposing effects. The number of mechanisms seems endless; protein kinase cascades may work as rapid switches that produce all-or-nothing responses (27) ; calcium signals encode and transmit information in frequency- or amplitude-modulation mode (28) ; feedback in signaling systems can build up over wide time frames, spanning 30 min and more (29) , and the same signal may have a multitude of temporally distinct effects (13) .

The approach used here gathered large parts of metabolism or signal transduction into black-box groups of reactions (30) . It simplified the application of control analysis to a system comprising both metabolic and signaling components. The explicit treatment of temporal and spatial aspects of certain signals was circumvented by defining the time frame of observation and by relating signal transduction events to cellular variables in systems that are, to a first approximation, at steady state. In our experiments, we chose to consider only a small number of signals and targets, but by using more inhibitors and measuring more intermediates the resolution of our method could be enhanced. The resolution of the method as we have used it here depends only on the availability of specific inhibitors and on achievable experimental accuracy.

Our results clearly distinguish the analysis from classical studies. For example, it is firmly established that mitogen action increases cellular oxygen consumption, but this is where conventional analyses stop. The use of control analysis allows us to go beyond such a qualitative characterization: it is possible to compare the relative importance of, for example, PKC in the stimulatory process with calcineurin and other unidentified pathways. Calcineurin was not expected to carry as much as 30% of the signal, showing how the analysis forces us to think in terms of topologies that are defined by the system itself and not by our expectations. In addition, the presence of unidentified signaling reactions can be discovered. Even without knowing their identities, the system properties and quantitative contributions of the unidentified reactions can be determined (albeit crudely) by difference.

The approach introduced here and applied experimentally to a model system allows a quantitative description of signal transduction that gives a novel and revealing insight into signal transduction and offers a starting point for the exploration of new relationships between signaling pathways and their cellular targets.


   ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
 
This work was supported by a BBSRC research studentship and a Girton College Graduate Research Scholarship to S. K. We thank Julie Buckingham for technical assistance.


   FOOTNOTES
 
1 Present address: Division of Endocrinology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, 99 Brookline Ave., Boston, MA 02215, USA.

Received for publication February 21, 2000. Revision received May 24, 2000.
   REFERENCES
TOP
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
MATERIALS AND METHODS
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
REFERENCES
 

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