A Model for Gene Activation

The purpose of this paper is to develop a model for the activation of the gene responsible for the production of the cytokine interleukin 6, IL-6. This is motivated by experimental work that indicates that exposure to certain exogenous chemicals results in changes in cytokine production. In particular, exposure to both the widely used pesticide atrazine and the legacy pesticide dieldrin, still very much present in the environment, resulted in the reduction of the production of IL-6. We develop of model of twelve ordinary differential equations to model the effect of changes in transcription factor levels on IL-6 production rates and establish basic qualitative properties of solutions.