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A positive-feedback-based bistable ‘memory module’ that governs a cell fate decision

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  • Wen Xiong

    (Stanford University School of Medicine)

  • James E. Ferrell

    (Stanford University School of Medicine)

Abstract

The maturation of Xenopus oocytes can be thought of as a process of cell fate induction, with the immature oocyte representing the default fate and the mature oocyte representing the induced fate1,2. Crucial mediators of Xenopus oocyte maturation, including the p42 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and the cell-division cycle protein kinase Cdc2, are known to be organized into positive feedback loops3. In principle, such positive feedback loops could produce an actively maintained ‘memory’ of a transient inductive stimulus and could explain the irreversibility of maturation3,4,5,6. Here we show that the p42 MAPK and Cdc2 system normally generates an irreversible biochemical response from a transient stimulus, but the response becomes transient when positive feedback is blocked. Our results explain how a group of intrinsically reversible signal transducers can generate an irreversible response at a systems level, and show how a cell fate can be maintained by a self-sustaining pattern of protein kinase activation.

Suggested Citation

  • Wen Xiong & James E. Ferrell, 2003. "A positive-feedback-based bistable ‘memory module’ that governs a cell fate decision," Nature, Nature, vol. 426(6965), pages 460-465, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:426:y:2003:i:6965:d:10.1038_nature02089
    DOI: 10.1038/nature02089
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    Cited by:

    1. Laure Talarmain & Matthew A. Clarke & David Shorthouse & Lilia Cabrera-Cosme & David G. Kent & Jasmin Fisher & Benjamin A. Hall, 2022. "HOXA9 has the hallmarks of a biological switch with implications in blood cancers," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.
    2. Deng, Liyuan & Huo, Siyu & Chen, Aihua & Liu, Zonghua, 2024. "Coupling resonance of signal responses induced by heterogeneously mixed positive and negative couplings in cognitive subnetworks," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    3. Jiegen Wu & Baoqiang Chen & Yadi Liu & Liang Ma & Wen Huang & Yihan Lin, 2022. "Modulating gene regulation function by chemically controlled transcription factor clustering," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-15, December.

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