Tunable Signal Processing through a Kinase Control Cycle: the IKK Signaling Node

The transcription factor NF kappa B, a key component of the immune system, shows intricate stimulus-specific temporal dynamics. Those dynamics are thought to play a role in controlling the physiological response to cytokines and pathogens. Biochemical evidence suggests that the NF kappa B inducing kinase, IKK, a signaling hub onto which many signaling pathways converge, is regulated via a regulatory cycle comprising a poised, an active, and an inactive state. We hypothesize that it operates as a modulator of signal dynamics, actively reshaping the signals generated at the receptor proximal level. Here we show that a regulatory cycle can function in at least three dynamical regimes, tunable by regulating a single kinetic parameter. In particular, the simplest three-state regulatory cycle can generate signals with two well-defined phases, each with distinct coding capabilities in terms of the information they can carry about the stimulus. We also demonstrate that such a kinase cycle can function as a signal categorizer classifying diverse incoming signals into outputs with a limited set of temporal activity profiles. Finally, we discuss the extension of the results to other regulatory motifs that could be understood in terms of the regimes of the three-state cycle.