PNNL

Abstract

Although many different receptors undergo endocytosis, the system-level design principles that govern the evolution of receptor dynamics are far from fully understood. We have constructed a generalized mathematical model to understand how receptor internalization dynamics encodes receptor function and regulation. Parametric analysis of the response of receptor systems to ligand inputs reveals that receptors can be categorized a being: i) avidity-controlled where the response control depends primarily on the extracelluar 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 epidermal growth factor receptor is a dual-sensitivity receptor. Significantly, we show that ligand-induced endocytosis is a mechanism to anhance the accuracy of signaling receptors rather than 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 regulations.