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arXiv · 2501.13837

Reaction kinetics of membrane receptors: a spatial modeling approach

Anil Cengiz·Sean D Lawley
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Abstract

The interactions between diffusing molecules and membrane-bound receptors drive numerous cellular processes. In this work, we develop a spatial model of molecular interactions with membrane receptors by homogenizing the cell membrane and describing the evolution of both molecular diffusion and molecule-receptor interactions. By analyzing a resulting partial differential equation coupled to ordinary differential equations, we derive analytical expressions for the steady-state molecular influx rate in four prototypical interaction scenarios: Michaelis-Menten kinetics, Substrate Competition, Competitive Inhibition, and Uncompetitive Inhibition. For each scenario, we show how to modify the classical well-mixed reaction rate theory to resolve spatial features inherent to receptors bound to cell membranes. We find that naive well-mixed calculations significantly overestimate reaction rates in certain biophysical parameter regimes.

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Anil Cengiz, Sean D Lawley. 2025-01-23. Reaction kinetics of membrane receptors: a spatial modeling approach. https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.13837

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