Competing proteins

[MarkE]

Are proteins in our body competition with each other? It is known that bacteria in our intestines compete, but regarding proteins I only found here:

"RNA transcripts, both protein-coding and non-coding, thus have the ability to compete for microRNA binding and co-regulate each other in complex ceRNA networks (ceRNETs)"

Does anyone know more competition in our body?

Of course, bacterial competition is different to protein competition, because proteins won't 'actively' try to get to the site the same way like bacteria, but I think it's still considered competetion, because you're able to be compete in a passive way, f.i. in the supermarket soft drinks like Coca Cola, Sprite, Fanta etc. are in competition with each other, because one of them is going to be bought. In this case the person in the supermarket is active here, she's going to choose one drink. How about the sites where proteins are being taken up, are they active? Ir is it proven they are entirely passive? Also, the drinks aren't that passive, because words like 'less sugar' of 'buy 3, pay 2' are influenzing the buyer' to choose the product.

In terms of human fertilization I read here the following:
"Female factors can influence the result of sperm competition through a process known as "sperm choice". Proteins present in the female reproductive tract or on the surface of the ovum may influence which sperm succeeds in fertilizing the egg. During sperm choice females are able to discriminate and differentially use the sperm from different males. One instance where this is known to occur is inbreeding; females will preferentially use the sperm from a more distantly related male than a close relative".

In fish (in this case salmon and trout) it seems to me (I read here) that the females are even more active:

"We found that activating sperm in ovarian fluid makes them live about twice as long as in river water. Importantly, both species' sperm also switch from swimming in tight elliptical circles in river water, to swimming in straightened trajectories in ovarian fluid. This behaviour allows sperm to navigate towards the egg by following a chemical cue".

I'd like to know if proteins are, in the same way like the above examples, in competition which each other.

 

[Aqueous Id]

Are proteins in our body competition with each other?

No, not the proteins you ingest.

It is known that bacteria in our intestines compete,

They compete for resources because they are alive.

but regarding proteins I only found here:

"RNA transcripts, both protein-coding and non-coding, thus have the ability to compete for microRNA binding and co-regulate each other in complex ceRNA networks (ceRNETs)"

This has to do with the synthesis of proteins within each cell in the body.

Does anyone know more competition in our body?

All of the cells compete for oxygen, glucose and amino acids.

Of course, bacterial competition is different to protein competition, because proteins won't 'actively' try to get to the site the same way like bacteria,

Proteins you eat don't make it to any site (cell). They are broken down into amino acids, and the amino acids are transported to the cells as food.

but I think it's still considered competetion, because you're able to be compete in a passive way, f.i. in the supermarket soft drinks like Coca Cola, Sprite, Fanta etc. are in competition with each other, because one of them is going to be bought. In this case the person in the supermarket is active here, she's going to choose one drink. How about the sites where proteins are being taken up, are they active?

Amino acids are being taken up, and it's from a combination of all of the proteins that were digested. So there is no particular selection going on.

Ir is it proven they are entirely passive? Also, the drinks aren't that passive, because words like 'less sugar' of 'buy 3, pay 2' are influenzing the buyer' to choose the product.

It's just a matter of dissolving them into amino acids and absorbing them into the blood where they are delivered to all the cells as food.

In terms of human fertilization I read here the following:
"Female factors can influence the result of sperm competition through a process known as "sperm choice". Proteins present in the female reproductive tract or on the surface of the ovum may influence which sperm succeeds in fertilizing the egg. During sperm choice females are able to discriminate and differentially use the sperm from different males. One instance where this is known to occur is inbreeding; females will preferentially use the sperm from a more distantly related male than a close relative".

In fish (in this case salmon and trout) it seems to me (I read here) that the females are even more active:

"We found that activating sperm in ovarian fluid makes them live about twice as long as in river water. Importantly, both species' sperm also switch from swimming in tight elliptical circles in river water, to swimming in straightened trajectories in ovarian fluid. This behaviour allows sperm to navigate towards the egg by following a chemical cue".

I'd like to know if proteins are, in the same way like the above examples, in competition which each other.

No, not the proteins you ingest.

 

[MarkE]

You wrote "They compete for resources because they are alive". But also viruses do compete (I read here), and viruses are considered 'not alive'.

About the protein competetion subject: the amino acids go to our cells, and the cells are the only ones that are in competition with each other? If cells are competing with each other, how then can you see that a cells lost the battle from his colleague, and another one has won? Are some cells at some point stronger than other ones, and you already know that this one is going to survive (longer), and that one will die (earlier)? When is a cell ‘better’ than his colleague cell?

And what about our brain. You wrote "So there is no particular selection going on", but the competition can possibly be not inside our body, but outside, in nature. We choose what we eat/drink. There are molecules that imitate others, for instance nicotine imitates acetylcholine, or psilocybine in drugs imitates serotonin. Acetylcholine does not compete when it's in our body (I read here) so it's not the other way around, and it is for sure not the imitator of nicotine.

There are also vitamin imitators and hormone imitators, so that's why I think that competition must be (almost) everywhere. Because receptors only look at form and polarity, and if these two are right, it's OK to make a chemical bond with the receptor, which still could be fooled, because there is more to it than form and polarity (cafeïne blocks adenosine receptors, because it fits the receptor), because f.i. nicotine is surely not doing the same as acetylcholine.

 

[wellwisher]

And what about our brain. You wrote "So there is no particular selection going on", but the competition can possibly be not inside our body, but outside, in nature. We choose what we eat/drink. There are molecules that imitate others, for instance nicotine imitates acetylcholine, or psilocybine in drugs imitates serotonin. Acetylcholine does not compete when it's in our body (I read here) so it's not the other way around, and it is for sure not the imitator of nicotine.

Competing is not the only way to look at this. Competing assumes closed specialization, instead of more innate flexibility that allows for other options. One may specialized in biology, but that does not mean you can't also enjoy literature, even though these are two separate specialties. The ability to do two or more things makes you more flexible, thereby making one a conduit for changes. A utility player can benefit the team. If one cell gets more animo acids, an utility cell does not fret, but shifts to another mode. Both are playing for the team called "body", and it does not need the constant glory to help the team.

 

[MarkE]

So no real competition between proteins? What do you think about competition for a binding site that either leads to a healthy body, or to cancer (article here)

"There is competition for binding to FGFR2 and one of the two competitors, phospholipase Cγ1 (Plcγ1), will increase cancer cell metastasis. The other protein inhibits the opportunity for this to occur,"
said John Ladbury, Ph.D., professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

 

[Billy T]

- One common protein in humans, necessary for life as O2 or H2O* is I think, can fold in more than one way (as is common for almost all molecules made of hundreds of atoms). Are these different foldings in competition? One folding is a prion that turns your brain into spongy matter.

The nature of the vCJD agent is being investigated and is still a matter of debate. One prevalent theory is that the agent is composed largely, if not entirely, of a self-replicating misfolded protein, referred to as a prion. There is strong scientific evidence that vCJD is linked with exposure to a TSE of cattle called BSE. {or less scientifically: Mad Cow Disease} The link between vCJD and BSE was first hypothesized because of the association of these two TSEs in time and place.

Prions are interesting. They can reproduce themselves. I think this is when they "bump" into a "correctly" folded version of the same molecule, they can convert it into the prion folding. If these different foldings are competing, the prion has an "unfair advantage" that kills you.

* Even pure H2O, which has a permanent electric dipole as the two Hs are on one side 105 degrees apart (not 180) from the O, which has "stolen" most of the H's electronic charge can be a complex polymer. Thus cold water has many dozens of complex 3D unions of water molecules. Even at body temperatures this union is common in the blood:
H2O - CO2 - H2O
as CO2 is a linear molecule. I.e. is O-C-O with the Os negative wrt the C but due to the symmetry, the dipole is zero. I.e. CO2 does not dissolve in water as say salt does. It forms a bound molecule with the Os "nesting" between the hydrogen pair ends of two water molecules. This is why an enormous amount of CO2 can "dissolve" in water - up to about one CO2 molecule for every two water molecules! A much greater percentage than NaCl can have "in solution."

 

[wellwisher]

Folding of protein is an equilibrium process based on the system of water-protein. If there is a flip between folding and the protein composition is the same, then the water has changed in terms of potential.