Version 1
: Received: 5 October 2023 / Approved: 26 October 2023 / Online: 26 October 2023 (06:23:03 CEST)
How to cite:
Pavlicev, M.; Wagner, G. Reading the Palimpsest of Cell Interactions: What Questions May We Ask of the Data? . Preprints2023, 2023101685. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202310.1685.v1
Pavlicev, M.; Wagner, G. Reading the Palimpsest of Cell Interactions: What Questions May We Ask of the Data? . Preprints 2023, 2023101685. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202310.1685.v1
Pavlicev, M.; Wagner, G. Reading the Palimpsest of Cell Interactions: What Questions May We Ask of the Data? . Preprints2023, 2023101685. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202310.1685.v1
APA Style
Pavlicev, M., & Wagner, G. (2023). <strong>Reading the Palimpsest of Cell Interactions: What Questions May We Ask of the Data? </strong>. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202310.1685.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Pavlicev, M. and Günter Wagner. 2023 "<strong>Reading the Palimpsest of Cell Interactions: What Questions May We Ask of the Data? </strong>" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202310.1685.v1
Abstract
Biological function depends on the composition as well as structure of the organism, that is the organization of interactions between its parts. In multicellular organisms, the complex communication between cells is crucial for the coordination of cellular functions (growth, differentiation, apoptosis), compartmentalization of cellular processes within the organism, and the integration of cells into functioning higher levels of structural organization. Here we focus on the interaction among cells, as the basic level of biological organization, capable of a remarkable degree of autonomy and self-maintenance. While a wealth of data on putative cell interactions has recently become available, its biological interpretation depends on expectations we have for the structure of these interaction networks. This contribution is an attempt at formulating basic questions we may ask about cell interaction data. We build on the understanding that cells fulfill two general functions: the integrity-maintaining and the organismal service function. We derive the expected patterns of cell interactions considering two intertwined aspects: the immediate functional and the evolutionary. Based on these, we propose several guidelines for analysis and interpretation of transcriptional cell-interactome data.
Keywords
cell communication; tissue structure; multicellularity; levels of organization; self-maintenance
Subject
Biology and Life Sciences, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
