Molecular communication in one-dimensional channels with active transport and crowding
Pith reviewed 2026-05-23 19:04 UTC · model grok-4.3
The pith
Active transport through relays and mixed particles changes mutual information in one-dimensional molecular communication channels.
A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.
Core claim
In one-dimensional channels, active transport through relays and through a mixture of active and diffusing particles influences the efficacy of molecular communication, quantified by the mutual information between transmitted and received signals.
What carries the argument
Mutual information between transmitted and received signals, which quantifies channel efficacy under active transport and crowding.
If this is right
- Relay-based active transport extends the distances over which mutual information remains high compared with diffusion.
- Mixtures of active and diffusing particles produce mutual-information values that depend on the relative fractions of each type.
- Crowding in both scenarios introduces distinct pitfalls that lower the achievable mutual information.
- The efficacy ordering between the two active-transport schemes can be read off from the mutual-information curves.
Where Pith is reading between the lines
- The same mutual-information framework could be used to optimize motor density or relay spacing in future designs.
- Extending the models to include binding kinetics measured in real motor systems would test how sensitive the information values are to those rates.
Load-bearing premise
The models assume that the chosen active-transport mechanisms and crowding interactions can be represented accurately enough in one dimension to yield reliable mutual-information values without additional experimental calibration of motor speeds or binding rates.
What would settle it
A laboratory measurement of mutual information in a fabricated one-dimensional channel containing molecular motors at controlled densities and speeds, compared directly to the model's numerical values, would falsify the claim if the experimental numbers deviate substantially.
Figures
read the original abstract
Molecular communication (MC) is a model of information transmission where the signal is transmitted by information-carrying molecules through their physical transport from a transmitter to a receiver through a communication channel. Prior efforts have identified suitable "information molecules" whose efficacy for signal transmission has been studied extensively in diffusive channels (DC). Although easy to implement, DCs are inefficient for distances longer than tens of nanometers. In contrast, molecular motor-driven nonequilibrium or active transport can drastically increase the range of communication and may permit efficient communication up to tens of micrometers. In this paper, we investigate how active transport influences the efficacy of molecular communication, quantified by the mutual information between transmitted and received signals. We consider two specific scenarios: (a) active transport through relays and (b) active transport through a mixture of active and diffusing particles. In each case, we discuss the efficacy of the communication channel and discuss their potential pitfalls.
Editorial analysis
A structured set of objections, weighed in public.
Referee Report
Summary. The manuscript models molecular communication in strictly one-dimensional channels, comparing two active-transport scenarios—(a) relay-based active transport and (b) mixtures of active motors and diffusing particles—against pure diffusion. Efficacy is quantified by the mutual information between the transmitted signal (release timing or type) and the received signal (arrival statistics at the receiver), with the central claim that active transport increases range and MI relative to diffusion while identifying pitfalls such as crowding effects.
Significance. If the 1D models and their MI calculations are robust, the work supplies concrete, falsifiable predictions for how motor-driven transport extends viable MC distances from tens of nm to tens of µm and quantifies the information-theoretic cost of crowding, which is directly relevant to both theoretical statistical mechanics of nonequilibrium transport and the design of synthetic molecular channels.
major comments (2)
- [Modeling and parameter sections (implicit in the two scenarios)] The central claim that the two active-transport scenarios produce quantitatively usable MI values demonstrating influence of active transport rests on the accuracy of the projected 1D binding/unbinding rates, motor processivity, and excluded-volume interactions. No experimental anchoring or sensitivity analysis of these parameters is supplied; any mismatch alters the arrival-time distributions that enter the conditional-entropy term of the MI, so the reported differences could be artifacts of the chosen parameter set rather than robust features.
- [Sections describing the relay and mixture models] The 1D reduction itself is load-bearing: effective rates and crowding are projections from 3D biology, yet the manuscript provides no test (e.g., comparison to 3D simulations or limiting-case analytics) showing that the MI ordering between scenarios survives plausible variations in those projections.
minor comments (2)
- [Results/figures] Notation for the mutual-information estimator and the discretization of arrival times should be stated explicitly (e.g., binning procedure or kernel-density method) to allow reproduction.
- [Figure captions] Figure captions should include the exact parameter values used for each curve so that the MI differences can be traced to specific choices of motor speed or binding rate.
Simulated Author's Rebuttal
We thank the referee for the careful reading and constructive critique. The comments highlight important issues regarding parameter robustness and the validity of the 1D reduction. We address each point below and outline revisions that will strengthen the manuscript without altering its core claims.
read point-by-point responses
-
Referee: The central claim that the two active-transport scenarios produce quantitatively usable MI values demonstrating influence of active transport rests on the accuracy of the projected 1D binding/unbinding rates, motor processivity, and excluded-volume interactions. No experimental anchoring or sensitivity analysis of these parameters is supplied; any mismatch alters the arrival-time distributions that enter the conditional-entropy term of the MI, so the reported differences could be artifacts of the chosen parameter set rather than robust features.
Authors: We agree that parameter sensitivity is essential for establishing robustness. The rates were drawn from standard literature values for kinesin and diffusion in confined geometries, but the manuscript does not include a dedicated sensitivity study. In revision we will add a new subsection performing systematic variation of binding/unbinding rates, processivity length, and excluded-volume strength over one order of magnitude. We will recompute the mutual-information curves and demonstrate that the reported ordering between active-transport and diffusive scenarios, as well as the identified crowding pitfalls, remains qualitatively intact. This addition directly addresses the concern that differences might be artifacts. revision: yes
-
Referee: The 1D reduction itself is load-bearing: effective rates and crowding are projections from 3D biology, yet the manuscript provides no test (e.g., comparison to 3D simulations or limiting-case analytics) showing that the MI ordering between scenarios survives plausible variations in those projections.
Authors: The 1D model is motivated by the geometry of narrow biological channels in which transverse equilibration is rapid compared with longitudinal transport. We will add an appendix containing limiting-case analytics: (i) the zero-crowding limit recovers the known diffusive mutual-information expressions, and (ii) the infinite-processivity limit reproduces the deterministic relay results. These checks confirm that the MI ordering is preserved under the projections. Full 3D particle-based simulations lie outside the present scope due to computational cost; however, the analytic limits provide evidence that the qualitative conclusions are not artifacts of the specific 1D projection chosen. revision: partial
Circularity Check
No circularity: mutual-information values derived from explicit 1D transport models without reduction to fitted inputs or self-citations
full rationale
The paper models two active-transport scenarios in 1D channels and computes mutual information between transmitted and received signals from the resulting arrival statistics. No equations, parameter-fitting steps, or self-citations are shown that would make any reported MI value equivalent to its own inputs by construction. The derivation therefore remains self-contained: the transport rules and channel geometry are stated independently of the final MI numbers, and the central claim does not collapse to a renaming or a load-bearing self-reference.
Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger
Reference graph
Works this paper leans on
-
[1]
A comprehensive survey of recent advance- ments in molecular communication,
N. Farsad, H. B. Yilmaz, A. Eckford, C.-B. Chae, and W. Guo, “A comprehensive survey of recent advance- ments in molecular communication,” IEEE Communica- tions Surveys & Tutorials, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 1887–1919, 2016
work page 1919
-
[2]
Tabletop molec- ular communication: Text messages through chemical signals,
N. Farsad, W. Guo, and A. W. Eckford, “Tabletop molec- ular communication: Text messages through chemical signals,” PloS one, vol. 8, no. 12, p. e82935, 2013
work page 2013
-
[3]
A new nanonet- work architecture using flagellated bacteria and catalytic nanomotors,
M. Gregori and I. F. Akyildiz, “A new nanonet- work architecture using flagellated bacteria and catalytic nanomotors,” IEEE Journal on selected areas in commu- nications, vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 612–619, 2010
work page 2010
-
[4]
Bacteria-based commu- nication in nanonetworks,
L. C. Cobo and I. F. Akyildiz, “Bacteria-based commu- nication in nanonetworks,” Nano Communication Net- works, vol. 1, no. 4, pp. 244–256, 2010
work page 2010
-
[5]
Biomolecular-motor-based nano-or microscale particle translocations on dna microarrays,
S. Hiyama, R. Gojo, T. Shima, S. Takeuchi, and K. Sutoh, “Biomolecular-motor-based nano-or microscale particle translocations on dna microarrays,” Nano Letters, vol. 9, no. 6, pp. 2407–2413, 2009
work page 2009
-
[6]
S. Hiyama, Y . Moritani, R. Gojo, S. Takeuchi, and K. Su- toh, “Biomolecular-motor-based autonomous delivery of lipid vesicles as nano-or microscale reactors on a chip,” Lab on a Chip , vol. 10, no. 20, pp. 2741–2748, 2010
work page 2010
-
[7]
S. Hiyama and Y . Moritani, “Molecular communication: Harnessing biochemical materials to engineer biomimetic communication systems,” Nano Communication Networks, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 20–30, Mar. 2010. [Online]. Available: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/ pii/S1878778910000074
work page 2010
-
[8]
Design of self-organizing microtubule networks for molecular communication,
A. Enomoto, M. J. Moore, T. Suda, and K. Oiwa, “Design of self-organizing microtubule networks for molecular communication,” Nano Communication Networks, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 16–24, 2011
work page 2011
-
[9]
T. Nitta, A. Tanahashi, M. Hirano, and H. Hess, “Simu- lating molecular shuttle movements: Towards computer- aided design of nanoscale transport systems,” Lab on a Chip, vol. 6, no. 7, pp. 881–885, 2006
work page 2006
-
[10]
In silico design and testing of guiding tracks for molecular shuttles powered by kinesin motors,
T. Nitta, A. Tanahashi, and M. Hirano, “In silico design and testing of guiding tracks for molecular shuttles powered by kinesin motors,” Lab on a Chip , vol. 10, no. 11, pp. 1447–1453, 2010
work page 2010
-
[11]
K. E. Byun, K. Heo, S. Shim, H. J. Choi, and S. Hong, “Functionalization of silicon nanowires with actomyosin motor protein for bioinspired nanomechanical applica- tions,” Small, vol. 5, no. 23, pp. 2659–2664, 2009
work page 2009
-
[12]
Tug-of-war of microtubule filaments at the boundary of a kinesin-and dynein-patterned sur- face,
J. Ikuta, N. K. Kamisetty, H. Shintaku, H. Kotera, T. Kon, and R. Yokokawa, “Tug-of-war of microtubule filaments at the boundary of a kinesin-and dynein-patterned sur- face,” Scientific reports, vol. 4, no. 1, p. 5281, 2014
work page 2014
-
[13]
D. Steuerwald, S. M. Fr ¨uh, R. Griss, R. D. Lovchik, and V . V ogel, “Nanoshuttles propelled by motor proteins sequentially assemble molecular cargo in a microfluidic device,” Lab on a Chip , vol. 14, no. 19, pp. 3729–3738, 2014
work page 2014
-
[14]
Molecular com- munication: Modeling noise effects on information rate,
M. J. Moore, T. Suda, and K. Oiwa, “Molecular com- munication: Modeling noise effects on information rate,” IEEE transactions on nanobioscience , vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 169–180, 2009
work page 2009
-
[15]
A simple mathematical model for information rate of ac- tive transport molecular communication,
N. Farsad, A. W. Eckford, S. Hiyama, and Y . Moritani, “A simple mathematical model for information rate of ac- tive transport molecular communication,” in 2011 IEEE conference on computer communications workshops (IN- FOCOM WKSHPS). IEEE, 2011, pp. 473–478
work page 2011
-
[16]
A mathe- matical channel optimization formula for active transport molecular communication,
N. Farsad, A. W. Eckford, and S. Hiyama, “A mathe- matical channel optimization formula for active transport molecular communication,” in 2012 IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC). IEEE, 2012, pp. 6137–6141
work page 2012
-
[17]
A markov chain channel model for active trans- port molecular communication,
——, “A markov chain channel model for active trans- port molecular communication,” IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing, vol. 62, no. 9, pp. 2424–2436, 2014
work page 2014
-
[18]
Accurate information transmission through dynamic biochemical signaling networks,
J. Selimkhanov, B. Taylor, J. Yao, A. Pilko, J. Albeck, A. Hoffmann, L. Tsimring, and R. Wollman, “Accurate information transmission through dynamic biochemical signaling networks,” Science, vol. 346, no. 6215, pp. 1370–1373, Dec. 2014, publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science Section: Report. [Online]. Available: https://science.sci...
work page 2014
-
[19]
Accurate Information Transmission Through Dynamic Biochemical Signaling Networks,
——, “Accurate Information Transmission Through Dynamic Biochemical Signaling Networks,” Science, vol. 346, no. 6215, pp. 1370–1373, Dec. 2014. [Online]. Available: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/ articles/PMC4813785/
work page 2014
-
[20]
Capacity of Diffusion-Based Molecular Communication Networks Over LTI-Poisson Channels,
G. Aminian, H. Arjmandi, A. Gohari, M. Nasiri-Kenari, and U. Mitra, “Capacity of Diffusion-Based Molecular Communication Networks Over LTI-Poisson Channels,” IEEE Transactions on Molecular, Biological and Multi- Scale Communications, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 188–201, Jun. 2015, conference Name: IEEE Transactions on Molecu- lar, Biological and Multi-Scale Communications
work page 2015
-
[21]
M. Pierobon and I. F. Akyildiz, “Capacity of a Diffusion- Based Molecular Communication System With Channel Memory and Molecular Noise,” IEEE Trans. Inform. Theory, vol. 59, no. 2, pp. 942–954, Feb. 2013. [Online]. Available: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6305481/
-
[22]
Capacity analysis of a diffusion-based short-range molecular nano-communication channel,
D. Arifler, “Capacity analysis of a diffusion-based short-range molecular nano-communication channel,” Computer Networks, vol. 55, no. 6, pp. 1426–1434, Apr
-
[23]
Available: http://www.sciencedirect.com/ science/article/pii/S1389128610003919
[Online]. Available: http://www.sciencedirect.com/ science/article/pii/S1389128610003919
-
[24]
Tunable signal processing through modular control of transcription factor translocation,
N. Hao, B. A. Budnik, J. Gunawardena, and E. K. O’Shea, “Tunable signal processing through modular control of transcription factor translocation,”Science, vol. 339, no. 6118, pp. 460–464, Jan. 2013
work page 2013
-
[25]
The IkappaB-NF-kappaB signaling module: tem- poral control and selective gene activation,
A. Hoffmann, A. Levchenko, M. L. Scott, and D. Balti- more, “The IkappaB-NF-kappaB signaling module: tem- poral control and selective gene activation,” Science, vol. 298, no. 5596, pp. 1241–1245, Nov. 2002
work page 2002
-
[26]
Growth factor-induced MAPK network topology shapes Erk response determining PC-12 cell fate,
S. D. M. Santos, P. J. Verveer, and P. I. H. Bastiaens, “Growth factor-induced MAPK network topology shapes Erk response determining PC-12 cell fate,” Nat. Cell Biol., vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 324–330, Mar. 2007
work page 2007
-
[27]
Encoding and decoding 8 cellular information through signaling dynamics,
J. E. Purvis and G. Lahav, “Encoding and decoding 8 cellular information through signaling dynamics,” Cell, vol. 152, no. 5, pp. 945–956, Feb. 2013
work page 2013
-
[28]
Effect of feedback on the fidelity of information transmission of time-varying signals,
W. H. de Ronde, F. Tostevin, and P. R. ten Wolde, “Effect of feedback on the fidelity of information transmission of time-varying signals,” Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys, vol. 82, no. 3 Pt 1, p. 031914, Sep. 2010
work page 2010
-
[29]
Mutual information between input and output trajectories of biochemical networks,
F. Tostevin and P. R. ten Wolde, “Mutual information between input and output trajectories of biochemical networks,” Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 102, no. 21, p. 218101, May 2009
work page 2009
-
[30]
Dynamics of diffusive cell signaling relays,
P. B. Dieterle, J. Min, D. Irimia, and A. Amir, “Dynamics of diffusive cell signaling relays,” bioRxiv, p. 2019.12.27.887273, Dec. 2019, publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Section: New Results. [Online]. Available: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10. 1101/2019.12.27.887273v1
work page 2019
-
[31]
Information transduction capacity of noisy biochemical signaling networks,
R. Cheong, A. Rhee, C. J. Wang, I. Nemenman, and A. Levchenko, “Information transduction capacity of noisy biochemical signaling networks,”Science, vol. 334, no. 6054, pp. 354–358, Oct. 2011
work page 2011
-
[32]
Advances in Measuring the Environmental and Social Impacts of Environmental Programs
G. Tka ˇcik and W. Bialek, “Information Processing in Living Systems,” Annual Review of Condensed Matter Physics , vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 89– 117, 2016, eprint: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev- conmatphys-031214-014803. [Online]. Available: https: //doi.org/10.1146/annurev-conmatphys-031214-014803
-
[33]
Dynamics of diffusive cell signaling relays,
P. Dieterle, J. Min, D. Irimia, and A. Amir, “Dynamics of diffusive cell signaling relays,” bioRxiv, 2019
work page 2019
-
[34]
Molecular communication using brownian motion with drift,
S. Kadloor, R. S. Adve, and A. W. Eckford, “Molecular communication using brownian motion with drift,” IEEE Transactions on NanoBioscience, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 89– 99, 2012
work page 2012
-
[35]
Efficacy of information transmission in cellular communication,
S. Sarkar, M. Z. Ali, and S. Choubey, “Efficacy of information transmission in cellular communication,” Physical Review Research, vol. 5, no. 1, p. 013092, 2023
work page 2023
-
[36]
Dynamics of diffusive cell signaling relays,
P. B. Dieterle, J. Min, D. Irimia, and A. Amir, “Dynamics of diffusive cell signaling relays,”Elife, vol. 9, p. e61771, 2020
work page 2020
-
[37]
R. Phillips, J. Kondev, J. Theriot, and H. Garcia, Physical biology of the cell . Garland Science, 2012
work page 2012
-
[38]
The mechanics and statistics of active matter,
S. Ramaswamy, “The mechanics and statistics of active matter,” Annu. Rev. Condens. Matter Phys., vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 323–345, 2010
work page 2010
-
[39]
W. Lim, B. Mayer, and T. Pawson, Cell signaling. Taylor & Francis, 2014
work page 2014
-
[40]
Bionumbers—the database of key numbers in molecular and cell biology,
R. Milo, P. Jorgensen, U. Moran, G. Weber, and M. Springer, “Bionumbers—the database of key numbers in molecular and cell biology,” Nucleic acids research , vol. 38, no. suppl 1, pp. D750–D753, 2010
work page 2010
-
[41]
Self-extinguishing relay waves enable homeostatic control of human neutrophil swarm- ing,
J. Strickland, D. Pan, C. Godfrey, J. S. Kim, A. Hopke, M. Degrange, B. Villavicencio, M. K. Mansour, C. S. Zerbe, D. Irimia et al. , “Self-extinguishing relay waves enable homeostatic control of human neutrophil swarm- ing,” bioRxiv, 2023
work page 2023
-
[42]
Molecular communication: A 10 year ret- rospective,
T. Nakano, “Molecular communication: A 10 year ret- rospective,” IEEE Transactions on Molecular, Biological and Multi-Scale Communications , vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 71– 78, 2017
work page 2017
-
[43]
Energetic costs of cellular computation,
P. Mehta and D. J. Schwab, “Energetic costs of cellular computation,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 109, no. 44, pp. 17 978–17 982, 2012
work page 2012
-
[44]
Information processing in living systems,
G. Tka ˇcik and W. Bialek, “Information processing in living systems,” Annual Review of Condensed Matter Physics, vol. 7, pp. 89–117, 2016
work page 2016
-
[45]
T. M. Cover, Elements of information theory. John Wiley & Sons, 1999
work page 1999
-
[46]
Estimation of mutual information for real-valued data with error bars and controlled bias,
C. M. Holmes and I. Nemenman, “Estimation of mutual information for real-valued data with error bars and controlled bias,” Physical Review E , vol. 100, no. 2, p. 022404, 2019
work page 2019
-
[47]
The exclusion process: A paradigm for non- equilibrium behaviour,
K. Mallick, “The exclusion process: A paradigm for non- equilibrium behaviour,”Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications , vol. 418, pp. 17–48, 2015
work page 2015
discussion (0)
Sign in with ORCID, Apple, or X to comment. Anyone can read and Pith papers without signing in.