Spatial resolution of ligand binding on cell membrane.

<p>Here we assume a cubicle cellular configuration to match the shape frequently seen on epithelial surfaces. We assume that the lower part of the cell is attached to a basement membrane and that ligand binding occurs uniformly and simultaneousl but only in the cell wall attached to the basement membrane (left images). The messenger proteins travel as a wave from the CM to the NM (middle images). The messenger proteins, due to directed motion, can project spatial information on the site of ligand binding onto the NM. This is evident in the recapitulation of the ligand binding pattern in the CM onto the NM in the right images.