Concluding Remarks

Abstract

We have come to the end of this introductory book on immune cell signaling from a systems biology perspective. Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 have highlighted that biological pathways are guided by deterministic response waves at the cell population level. These response waves can be modeled using the perturbation-response approach utilizing first-order mass-action equations. From the examples of TLRs, TNF, and TRAIL signaling, it is shown that network topology, rather than reaction parameter values, is crucial for interpreting complex signaling dynamics. In other words, from population cell-average dynamics, we observe simple statistical laws, such as linear response and power law, which are important to shape global response.