Description du projet
Quantification des informations transmises entre l’environnement et la cellule
Les voies de signalisation impliquent des cascades de réactions biochimiques qui transmettent des signaux extérieurs vers l’intérieur de la cellule. Financé par le programme Actions Marie Skłodowska-Curie, le projet Cellinfo a pour ambition de faire la lumière sur la quantité d’informations transmises de l’environnement à la cellule via les voies de signalisation et la manière dont les signaux sont intégrés dans le temps. Le projet fait appel à l’optogénétique quantitative de pointe et à la modélisation théorique pour quantifier le flux d’informations dans la voie bien connue de signalisation de la protéine kinase activée par des agents mitogènes. Il effectuera une stimulation spécifique pour activer la voie et la mesure de la réponse à la fin de la cascade de signalisation. Les données recueillies seront organisées dans un cadre théorique, utilisant la physique statistique et la théorie de l’information pour quantifier les informations statiques et dynamiques transmises.
Objectif
Signaling pathways are cascades of biochemical reactions that transduce environmental signals to the cell interior. The cells rely on the information transduced through signalling pathways to govern biological functions and maximise the fitness of the organism. Conversely, defects in the signalling pathways are implicated in various diseases, e.g. carcinogenesis. The intricate network of signalling pathways indicates the existence of sophisticated information processing mechanisms, motivating the key questions of this project: How much information is transmitted from the environment through the signalling pathway? How many features of the signals are conveyed? Are signals integrated over time? To answer these questions, the project combines state of the art quantitative optogenetic experiments and theoretical modelling using information theory to quantify the information flow in the canonical MAPK signaling pathway. Experimentally, a well-defined stimulus will be applied at the beginning of the pathway while measuring the response at the end of the signaling cascade. The results will be integrated into a theoretical framework based on statistical physics and information theory to quantify how much static and dynamic information is being transmitted, offering key insights into cell function — the building blocks of living organisms — with potential application in drug design. The strong interdisciplinary nature of this project and the detailed dissemination strategy promotes collaboration between research communities of physicists and biologists, as well as reinforces information as a key concept in life sciences. The included training plan ensures the candidate will acquire skills in advanced experimental and theoretical techniques, and the two-way transfer of knowledge provides mutual benefit between the candidate and the host institution.
Champ scientifique
Programme(s)
Régime de financement
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinateur
75231 Paris
France