@article{2377, keywords = {Animals, Drosophila, Drosophila Proteins, Signal Transduction, Cell Differentiation, Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor, Feedback, Physiological, Wing, Receptors, Invertebrate Peptide}, author = {Shian-Jang Yan and Jeremiah Zartman and Minjie Zhang and Anthony Scott and Stanislav Shvartsman and Willis Li}, title = {Bistability coordinates activation of the EGFR and DPP pathways in Drosophila vein differentiation.}, abstract = {

Cell differentiation in developing tissues is controlled by a small set of signaling pathways, which must coordinate the timing and levels of activation to ensure robust and precise outcomes. Highly coordinated activation of signaling pathways can result from cross-regulatory interactions in multi-pathway networks. Here we explore the dynamics and function of pathway coordination between the EGFR and DPP pathways during Drosophila wing-vein differentiation. We show that simultaneous activation of both the EGFR and DPP pathways must be maintained for vein cell differentiation and that above-threshold ectopic activation of either pathway is sufficient to drive vein cell differentiation outside the proveins. The joint activation of the EGFR and DPP signaling systems is ensured by a positive feedback loop, in which the two pathways stimulate each other at the level of ligand production.

}, year = {2009}, journal = {Mol Syst Biol}, volume = {5}, pages = {278}, language = {eng}, }