Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic inflammatory condition of the mucosa mediated by a complex signalling network between the keratinocytes and the sub-epithelial lymphocytes.
Senescence is regulated in a cell type- and stimulus-dependent manner by a complex signalling network involving the tumour suppressors, p53 and pRb (Fig. 1).
Insect resistance is a primary breeding objective but is difficult to improve because it is controlled by a complex signalling cascade.
Chromosome segregation is controlled by a complex signalling network targeting the kinetochore a protein superstructure of some 100 polypeptides, anchoring chromosomes to the mitotic spindle through interaction with a specialized region of the chromosome, the centromere.
Distinct subsets of T cells are regulated by a complex signalling network of cytokines and transcription factors, and disturbances in this network can cause serious pathologies, such as excessive inflammatory response in autoimmune diseases and enhanced immune tolerance in tumor microenvironment.
During Schwann cell myelination in vivo, expression of KROX20 is controlled by a complex signalling cascade involving the transcription factors OCT6, SOX10, YY1 and NFATC4, as well as through activation of the G-protein coupled receptor GPR126 (Topilko et al., 1994; Jaegle et al., 1996; Kao et al., 2009; Monk et al., 2009, 2011; Finzsch et al., 2010; He et al., 2010).
At fertilization, it is initiated by a complex signal transduction pathway triggered by the contact of the sperm membrane with components of the zona pellucida [8].
Via G12/13 the LPA receptor activates the Rho pathway preventing long-range peroxisomal motility that seems to be regulated by a complex signaling network [4], [6].
This feed-forward positive signaling loop, however, does not function in isolation, but is tightly controlled by a complex signaling network, including its suppression by insulin like growth factor binding protein-7 (IGFBP-7) and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-2 (TIMP-2) signaling that change with aging [13], [21].
