AVT - Research - Research project

In this project model-based experimental analysis is used to identify the dynamics of IL-6 signal transduction in human cell lines.

A central part of systems biology is to develop computational models of biological pathways based on experimental data. These models can, for example, be used to quickly test experimental scenarios in silico before starting time-consuming laboratory work. In this work models are used to help discriminate between different postulated biological mechanisms. Specifically, different models were generated to elucidate the precise role of the phosphatase SHP2 in IL-6 signaling. Special attention was paid to balancing model complexity and the amount and precision of experimental data, thus avoiding model over-parametrization. To determine values of unknown model parameters, our cooperation partners of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology have developed highly standardized experiments in HEK cells. It is the aim of this study to discriminate between mutually exclusive models of IL-6-induced signal transduction and to select the hypothesis among some candidates that explains the dynamics of the signal transduction best.