Modeling single-cell heterogeneity in signaling dynamics of macrophages reveals principles of information transmission

Macrophages initiate pathogen-appropriate immune responses with the activation dynamics of transcription factor NFκB mediating specificity. Live-cell imaging revealed the stimulus-response specificity (SRS) of NFκB dynamics among heterogeneous populations of cells. To study SRS beyond what is experimentally accessible, we developed mathematical model simulations that capture the cellular heterogeneity of stimulus-responsive NFκB dynamics and the SRS performance of the population. Complementing experimental data, extended-dose response simulations improved channel capacity estimates. By collapsing parameter distributions, we located information loss to receptor modules, while the negative-feedback-containing core module showed remarkable signaling fidelity. Further, constructing single-cell network models revealed the stimulus-response specificity of single cells (scSRS). We found that despite SRS limitations at the population level, the majority of single cells are capable of responding..., , # Modeling single-cell heterogeneity in signaling dynamics of macrophages reveals principles of information transmission

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.8cz8w9h3d](10.5061/dryad.8cz8w9h3d)

## Description of the data and file structure

This dataset includes single-cell NFkB time trajectories processed from live-cell live-cell image tracking of RelA in BMDMs, the correpsonding mechanistic model fitted trajectories, and generated/sampled new single-cell trajectories, as described in **Guo et al. (2025)** \"**Modeling single-cell heterogeneity in signaling dynamics of macrophages reveals principles of information transmission**\". The live-cell live-cell image tracking of RelA in BMDMs were generated following the protocols of Adelaja, Taylor et al., (2021).

**Corresponding author information**

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Name: Alexander Hoffmann
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5607-3845
Affiliation: Institute for Quantitative and Computational Biosciences & Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecu...,