Fig 2. Reaction Scheme of LPS Mediated Membrane Complex Activation.

Six reversible reactions capture the mechanism of LPS binding and activation of macrophages. The numbers in parenthesis denote the number of individual reactions implemented in the model to represent a specific binding/unbinding reaction. In short, LPS can activate macrophages in two ways, either TLR4 mediated or TLR4 and MD2 mediated, the latter of which is significantly faster and more robust.