Mathematical modelling of protein secretion across the endoplasmic reticulum

Protein export across the endoplasmic reticulum occurs via co-and post-translational pathways. The former requires a protein known as signal recognition particle (SRP), while the latter depends on the free ribosome concentration in the cytoplasm. Both these processes involve a complex network of many interlinked reactions which contain multitiered feedback loops that regulate the actual mode of translocation. The complexity is such that in order to understand fully the effects of pertubations and mutations on these systems, a detailed representation of the numerous pathways is necessary. The emphasis of this paper is on the development and analysis of a mathematical model highlighting these two pathways.