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Oscillations and temporal signalling in cells

Tiana, G.; Krishna, S.; Pigolotti, S.; Jensen, M.H.; Sneppen, K.
Physical Biology 4, R1-R17 (2007)

The development of new techniques to quantitatively measure gene expression in cells has shed light on a number of systems that display oscillations in protein concentration. Here we review the different mechanisms which can produce oscillations in gene expression or protein concentration using a framework of simple mathematical models. We focus on three eukaryotic genetic regulatory networks which show ultradian oscillations, with a time period of the order of hours, and involve, respectively, proteins important for development (Hes1), apoptosis (p53) and immune response (NF-ºB). We argue that underlying all three is a common design consisting of a negative feedback loop with time delay which is responsible for the oscillatory behaviour.