Sensitivity analysis and experimental design of a stiff signal transduction pathway model

Sensitivity analysis is normally used to analyze how sensitive a system is with respect to the change of parameters or initial conditions and is perhaps best known in systems biology via the formalism of metabolic control analysis [1, 2]. The nuclear factor B (NF-B) signalling pathway is an important cellular signalling pathway, of which protein phosphorylation is a major factor controlling the activation of further downstream events. The NF-κB proteins regulate numerous genes that play important roles in inter- and intra-cellular signalling, cellular stress responses, cell growth, survival, and apoptosis. As such, its specificity and its role in the temporal control of gene expression are of crucial physiological interest.