Identification of self through two-dimensional chemistry and synapses

Cells in the immune and nervous systems communicate through informational s ynapses. The two-dimensional chemistry underlying the process of synapse fo rmation is beginning to be explored using fluorescence imaging and mechanic al techniques. Early analysis of two-dimensional kinetic rates (k(on) and k (off)) and equilibrium constants (K-d) provides a number of biological insi ghts. First, there are two regimes for adhesion-one disordered with slow k( on) and the other self-ordered with 10(4)-fold faster k(on). Despite huge v ariation in two-dimensional k(on), the two-dimensional k(off) is like k(off ) in solution, and two-dimensional k(off) is more closely related to intrin sic properties of the interaction than the two-dimensional k(on). Thus diff erence in k(off) can be used to set signaling thresholds. Early signaling c omplexes are compartmentalized to generate synergistic signaling domains. I mmune antigen receptor components have a role in neural synapse editing. Th is suggests significant parallels in informational synapse formation based on common two-dimensional chemistry and signaling strategies.