Data-driven modelling of receptor tyrosine kinase signalling networks quantifies receptor-specific potencies of PI3K- and Ras-dependent ERK activation.

Signal transduction networks in mammalian cells, comprising a limited set of interacting biochemical pathways, are accessed by various growth factor and cytokine receptors to elicit distinct cell responses. This raises the question as to how specificity of the stimulus-response relationship is encoded at the molecular level. It has been proposed that specificity arises not only from the activation of unique signalling pathways, but also from quantitative differences in the activation and regulation of shared receptor-proximal signalling proteins. To address such hypotheses, data sets with greater precision and coverage of experimental conditions will need to be acquired, and rigorous frameworks that codify and parameterize the inherently non-linear relationships among signalling activities will need to be developed. In the present study we apply a systematic approach combining quantitative measurements and mathematical modelling to compare the signalling networks accessed by FGF (fibroblast growth factor) and PDGF (platelet-derived growth factor) receptors in mouse fibroblasts, in which the ERK (extracellular-signal-regulated kinase) cascade is activated by Ras- and PI3K (phosphoinositide 3-kinase)-dependent pathways. We show that, whereas the FGF stimulation of PI3K signalling is relatively weak, this deficiency is compensated for by a more potent Ras-dependent activation of ERK. Thus, as the modelling would predict, the ERK pathway is activated to a greater extent in cells co-stimulated with FGF and PDGF, relative to the saturated levels achieved with either ligand alone. It is envisaged that similar approaches will prove valuable in the elucidation of quantitative differences among other closely related receptor signalling networks.