Whole Cells - Molecular Theory of the Living Cell - page 461

Table 12.15 Triple articulations in cell and human languages
Parameters Human language Cell language

1. Key material component Book DNA

2. Size of signs Macroscpic (e.g., words) Microscopic (e.g., molecules)

3. Reader/effector The human brain The cell

4. First articulation Words ! sentences Noncovalent structures (e.g., protein

conformations)

5. Second articulation Letters ! words Covalent structures (e.g., protein

primary structures)

6. Third articulation Sentences ! texts Gradient structures, (e.g.,

transmembrane ion gradients,
intracellular mechanical stress
gradients (Ingber 1998),
intracellular ion and metabolite
gradients

The triple articulation is defined in the second column and Rows 4, 5, and 6 in
Table 12.15 , where the arrow symbol can be read as “form” or “produce.” I formulated
the notion of third articulation in 2003. Although linguists apparently have not
widely discussed third articulation , there is no reason why the number of articulations
in human language should stop at two. Hence it was proposed that human language
exhibits the phenomenon of “third articulation,” defined as a sequential arrangement
of sentences to form texts . If the isomorphism thesis between cell and human
language is valid, there should exist the first, second, and third articulations in cell
language as well (see the third column). The third articulation in cell language is
suggested to be space-and time-dependent changes in concentrations or diffusible
molecules or mechanical strains (known as conformons) inside the cell. Such
dynamic structures were referred to as IDSs (intracellular dissipative structures or
dissipatons )inthe Bhopalator model of the living cell (Fig. 2.11 ), and IDSs in turn
may be viewed as related to the concept of metabolic spacetime proposed by Welch
and his colleagues (Welch and Smith 1990; Smith and Welch 1991; Welch and
Keleti 1981).
The concept of paradigmatic and syntagmatic relations are useful in understand-
ing the structure of signal transduction pathways in general and the mode of
operations of Components 4-7 in Fig. 12.35 , in particular. These concepts are
explained in Table 12.15 using familiar examples. The syntagmatic relation refers
to the relation among the components of a sentence such as the subject, verb, and
object as shown in the first row of Table 12.16 . Thus, in English language, the
subject of a sentence precedes the verb which in turn precedes the object: “He”
precedes “loves” which precedes “her,” etc. This is analogous to Component 4
preceding Component 5 which precedes Component 6 which precedes Component
7 in STM shown in Fig. 12.35 or to MAPKKK preceding MAPKK which precedes
MAPK which precedes transcription factors in Fig. 12.36 . This figure summarizes
the MAP kinase signaling cascade of vertebrates as reviewed by Seger and Krebs in
1995. An analogous signaling pathway was found to operate in the unicellular
organism S. cerevisiae (Seger and Krebs 1995).