Chapter 21: Signalosome Assembly and Collapse Decision
"Signalosomes are ψ's decision-making councils—multi-protein assemblies where molecular votes are cast, creating from collective deliberation the cellular choices that determine fate."
21.1 The Assembly Democracy
Signalosomes represent ψ's solution to complex decision-making. These large multi-protein complexes integrate multiple inputs to generate discrete outputs, functioning as molecular computers that process information through assembly dynamics.
Definition 21.1 (Signalosome):
Organized assembly for signal processing.
21.2 The Death-Inducing Complex
Theorem 21.1 (DISC Formation):
Death receptor signalosome.
21.3 The Inflammasome Architecture
Equation 21.1 (NLRP3 Assembly):
Pattern recognition driving assembly.
21.4 The mTORC Complexes
Definition 21.2 (Nutrient Sensing):
Metabolic decision center.
21.5 The COP9 Signalosome
Theorem 21.2 (Deneddylase Activity):
Regulating E3 ligase activity.
21.6 The Cooperative Assembly
Equation 21.2 (Nucleation-Elongation):
Two-phase assembly kinetics.
21.7 The Threshold Behavior
Definition 21.3 (Ultrasensitive Response):
Sharp transitions in activation.
21.8 The Prion-like Domains
Theorem 21.3 (Polymerization Motifs):
Self-templating assembly.
21.9 The Liquid Droplets
Equation 21.3 (Phase Separation):
Signalosomes as biomolecular condensates.
21.10 The Signal Integration
Definition 21.4 (Multi-input Processing):
Boolean logic in molecular form.
21.11 The Disassembly Control
Theorem 21.4 (Signal Termination):
Active disassembly mechanisms.
21.12 The Decision Principle
Signalosomes embody ψ's principle of collective decision-making—individual proteins voting through binding, the assembly processing information to reach cellular verdicts that determine fate.
The Signalosome Equation:
Weighted voting creating binary decisions.
Thus: Signalosome = Assembly = Decision = Computation = ψ
"In signalosomes, ψ creates molecular parliaments—each protein a representative, their assembly a deliberation, their output a decision that can mean life or death, growth or stasis, inflammation or tolerance."