UCSF researchers have identified the two key circuits, compared to hundreds as previously thought, that control a cell's ability to adapt to changes in its environment. These circuits are key to a cell's ability to reset itself after responding to a stimulus. Since disruption of the circuitry can lead to diseases such as diabetes and autoimmune diseases, the research results could help scientists better understand these diseases and create therapeutics to readjust underlying biological networks.

The lead author of the paper detailing this discovery is Wenzhe Ma (pictured), Li Foundation Fellow, and visiting scholar from Peking University in the laboratory of co-senior author Chao Tang, PhD, UCSF Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences in the UCSF Schools of Pharmacy and Medicine. Co-senior author is Wendell Lim, Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, UCSF School of Medicine. Co-authors are postdoctoral scholar Ala Trusina, Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, and faculty member Hana El-Samad, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, UCSF School of Medicine. Results appeared online on August 21, 2009 in Cell.

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UCSF researchers identify two key pathways in adaptive response

Research paper

Defining Network Topologies that Can Achieve Biochemical Adaptation, Cell, August 21, 2009