CD4+ T cells recognize antigens through their T cell receptors TCR). However, additional signals involving co-stimulatory receptors, for example CD28, are required for proper T cell activation. Alternative co-stimulatory receptors have been proposed, including members of the Toll-like receptor family, such as TLR5 and TLR2.
We report here three Boolean models for:
- the T cell receptor (TCR) signalling pathway;
- the Toll-like receptor (TLR5) signalling pathway;
- the combination of TCR and TLR5 pathway, taking into accounting cross-interactions.
These models were validated by analysing the responses of T cells to the activation of these pathways alone or in combination, in terms of CREB, c-Jun and p65 activation.
The resulting merged model accurately reproduces the experimental results, showing that the activation of TLR5 can play a similar role to that of CD28, regarding AP-1, CREB and NF-кB activation, thereby, providing insights regarding the cross-regulation of these pathways in CD4+ T cells.
