.BioChem.Examples.CellDivison.cell

Information

CellDivision

This example is a Modelica version of the model presented in Modeling the cell division cycle: cdc2 and cyclin interactions by John J. Tyson. (Proc. Nati. Acad. Sci. USA Vol. 88, pp. 7328-7332, August 1991 Cell Biology)

Abstract

The proteins cdc2 and cyclin form a heterodimer (maturation promoting factor) that controls the major events of the cell cycle. A mathematical model for the interactions of cdc2 and cyclin is constructed. Simulation and analysis of the model show that the control system can operate in three modes: as a steady state with high maturation promoting factor activity, as a spontaneous oscillator, or as an excitable switch. We associate the steady state with metaphase arrest in unfertilized eggs, the spontaneous oscillations with rapid division cycles in early embryos, and the excitable switch with growthcontrolled division cycles typical of nonembryonic cells.

Simulations

The simulation results are shown in the Figure 1. This plot corresponds to Fig 3A from the original publication (Tyson, 1991).
Fig1: Simulation results