Cell Fates as High-Dimensional Attractor States of a Complex Gene Regulatory Network

Sui Huang, Gabriel Eichler, Yaneer Bar-Yam, and Donald E. Ingber
Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 128701 – Published 1 April 2005
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Abstract

Cells in multicellular organisms switch between distinct cell fates, such as proliferation or differentiation into specialized cell types. Genome-wide gene regulatory networks govern this behavior. Theoretical studies of complex networks suggest that they can exhibit ordered (stable) dynamics, raising the possibility that cell fates may represent high-dimensional attractor states. We used gene expression profiling to show that trajectories of neutrophil differentiation converge to a common state from different directions of a 2773-dimensional gene expression state space, providing the first experimental evidence for a high-dimensional stable attractor that represents a distinct cellular phenotype.

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  • Received 13 September 2004

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.94.128701

©2005 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Sui Huang1,*, Gabriel Eichler1, Yaneer Bar-Yam2, and Donald E. Ingber1

  • 1Vascular Biology Program, Departments of Pathology & Surgery, Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
  • 2New England Complex Systems Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA

  • *Electronic address: sui.huang@childrens.harvard.edu

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Issue

Vol. 94, Iss. 12 — 1 April 2005

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