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arXiv · 1511.00171

Know the single-receptor sensing limit? Think again

Gerardo Aquino·Ned S. Wingreen·Robert G. Endres
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Abstract

How cells reliably infer information about their environment is a fundamentally important question. While sensing and signaling generally start with cell-surface receptors, the degree of accuracy with which a cell can measure external ligand concentration with even the simplest device - a single receptor - is surprisingly hard to pin down. Recent studies provide conflicting results for the fundamental physical limits. Comparison is made difficult as different studies either suggest different readout mechanisms of the ligand-receptor occupancy, or differ on how ligand diffusion is implemented. Here we critically analyse these studies and present a unifying perspective on the limits of sensing, with wide-ranging biological implications.

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Gerardo Aquino, Ned S. Wingreen, Robert G. Endres. 2015-10-31. Know the single-receptor sensing limit? Think again. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10955-015-1412-9

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