Investigating Single-Cell Stochasticity in TRAIL Signaling

Abstract

The development and analyses of the TNF-related apoptosis ligand (TRAIL) signaling model for resistant cancer cell populations in Chap. 8 are described using simple linear response equations. Although the approach is indispensable for understanding the deterministic and well-coordinated macroscopic response of cell population averages, the effect of biological noise revealed from single-cell approaches, mentioned in the previous chapter, requires consideration. This consideration is especially necessary for cancer populations, which consist of highly variable and heterogeneous cells. Thus, to consider the implications of cellular variability in TRAIL signaling, this chapter extends the TRAIL population model into a variable single-cell response model. The extension allows the investigation of how biological noise, particularly the effect of stochasticity, on signaling reactions can affect the overall resistance mechanisms in human fibrosarcoma or HT1080 cells.