Robustness of integrin signaling network.

Integrin signaling network is responsible for regulating a wide variety of fundamental biological processes ranging from cell survival to cell death. While individual components of the network have been studied through experimental and computational methods, the network robustness and the flow of information through the network have not been characterized in a quantitative framework. Using a probability based model implemented through GRID computing, we approach the reduced signaling network and show that the network is highly robust and the final stable steady state is independent of the initial configurations. However, the path from the initial and the final state is intrinsically dependent on the state of the input nodes. Our results demonstrate a rugged funnel-like landscape for the signaling network where the final state is unique, but the paths are dependent on initial conditions.