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    Cell Signaling Write Up

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    infinity chronus
    Cell signaling allows cells to communicate via signaling molecules called ligands that bind to receptors and trigger responses. There are three main stages: reception of the signal molecule, transduction of the signal through the cell, and a cellular response. Signaling can occur through several types including endocrine signaling using hormones, paracrine signaling between nearby cells, and autocrine signaling where a cell responds to its own signals. The main receptor types are G protein-coupled receptors, receptor tyrosine kinases, and ion channel receptors. Intracellular receptors in the cytoplasm or nucleus respond to signaling molecules that enter the cell.

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    Cell Signaling Write Up

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    infinity chronus
    182 views4 pages
    Cell signaling allows cells to communicate via signaling molecules called ligands that bind to receptors and trigger responses. There are three main stages: reception of the signal molecule, transduction of the signal through the cell, and a cellular response. Signaling can occur through several types including endocrine signaling using hormones, paracrine signaling between nearby cells, and autocrine signaling where a cell responds to its own signals. The main receptor types are G protein-coupled receptors, receptor tyrosine kinases, and ion channel receptors. Intracellular receptors in the cytoplasm or nucleus respond to signaling molecules that enter the cell.

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    Cell signaling allows cells to communicate via signaling molecules called ligands that bind to receptors and trigger responses. There are three main stages: reception of the signal molecule, transduction of the signal through the cell, and a cellular response. Signaling can occur through several types including endocrine signaling using hormones, paracrine signaling between nearby cells, and autocrine signaling where a cell responds to its own signals. The main receptor types are G protein-coupled receptors, receptor tyrosine kinases, and ion channel receptors. Intracellular receptors in the cytoplasm or nucleus respond to signaling molecules that enter the cell.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    182 views4 pages

    Cell Signaling Write Up

    Uploaded by

    infinity chronus
    Cell signaling allows cells to communicate via signaling molecules called ligands that bind to receptors and trigger responses. There are three main stages: reception of the signal molecule, transduction of the signal through the cell, and a cellular response. Signaling can occur through several types including endocrine signaling using hormones, paracrine signaling between nearby cells, and autocrine signaling where a cell responds to its own signals. The main receptor types are G protein-coupled receptors, receptor tyrosine kinases, and ion channel receptors. Intracellular receptors in the cytoplasm or nucleus respond to signaling molecules that enter the cell.

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    of 4

    Maniquis, Nunki M.

    BS Biology 4

    Cell Signaling
    CMB Report

    11-16-15
    Mr. Kenneth Paulo

    Cell Signaling
    -

    A mechanism of a cell to communicate with other cells by means of signaling


    molecules (Ligands the term for a molecule that specifically binds to another
    molecule, often a larger one) to stimulate a cellular response.
    Ligand binding generally causes a receptor protein to undergo a change in
    shape. For many receptors, this shape change directly activates the receptor,
    enabling it to interact with other cellular molecules. For other kinds of receptors,
    the immediate effect of ligand binding is to cause the aggregation of two or
    more receptor molecules, which leads to further molecular events inside the
    cell. Most signal receptors are plasma membrane proteins, but others are
    located inside the cell.
    Cells that produce the signaling molecule a referred to as the signaling cells
    Cells that receive the signal are called target cells

    Three Stages in Cell Signaling


    -

    1) Reception
    Reception is the target cells detection of a signaling molecule coming from
    outside the cell. A chemical signal is detected when the signaling molecule
    binds to a receptor protein located at the cells surface or inside the cell.
    2) Transduction
    The binding of the signaling molecule changes the receptor protein in some way,
    initiating the process of transduction. The transduction stage converts the signal
    to a form that can bring about a specific cellular response.
    3) Cellular response
    The transduced signal finally triggers a specific cellular response. The response
    may be almost any imaginable cellular activitysuch as catalysis by an enzyme
    (for example, glycogen phosphorylase), rearrangement of the cytoskeleton, or
    activation of specific genes in the nucleus.

    Types of Cell Signaling


    Cells communicate by means of extracellular signaling molecules that are
    produced and released by signaling cells. These molecules recognize and bind to
    receptors on the surface of target cells where they cause a cellular response by
    means of a signal transduction pathway. Depending on the distance that the
    signaling molecule has to travel, we can talk about three types of signaling:
    1) Endocrine signaling

    In endocrine signaling
    hormones are produced by
    an endocrine gland and sent
    through the blood stream to
    distant cells. Hormones can
    be: small lipophilic molecules
    that diffuse through the cell
    membrane to reach cytosolic or nuclear receptors. Examples are progesterone
    and testosterone, as well as thyroid hormones. They generally regulate
    transcription; or water soluble molecules that bind to receptors on the plasma
    membrane. They are either proteins like insulin and glucagon, or small, charged
    molecules like histamine and epinephrine.
    2) Paracrine signaling
    In paracrine signaling the signaling
    molecule affects only target cells in
    the proximity of the signaling cell. An
    example is the conduction of an
    electric signal from one nerve cell to
    another or to a muscle cell. In this
    case the signaling molecule is a
    neurotransmitter.
    3) Autocrine signaling
    In autocrine signaling cells respond to
    molecules they produce themselves.
    Examples include many growth factors.
    Prostaglandins, lipophilic hormones that
    bind to membrane receptors, are often
    used in paracrine and autocrine signaling.
    They generally modulate the effect of
    other hormones.

    Types of Receptors
    -

    1) G protein-coupled receptors
    A G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) is a cell-surface transmembrane receptor
    that works with the help of a G protein, a protein that binds the energy-rich
    molecule GTP. Many different signaling moleculesincluding yeast mating
    factors, epinephrine (adrenaline) and many other hormones, as well as
    neurotransmittersuse GPCRs. These receptors vary in the binding sites for
    their signaling molecules (often referred to as their ligands) and also for different
    types of G proteins inside the cell. Nevertheless, GPCR proteins are all
    remarkably similar in structure. In fact, they make up a large family of
    eukaryotic receptor proteins with a secondary structure in which the single
    polypeptide, represented here in a ribbon model, has seven transmembrane

    helices, outlined with cylinders and depicted in a row for clarity. Specific loops
    between the helices (here, the loops on the right) form binding sites for
    signaling molecules (outside the cell) and G proteins (on the cytoplasmic side).
    -

    2) Receptor tyrosine kinases


    Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) belong to a major class of plasma membrane
    receptors characterized by having enzymatic activity. A kinase is any enzyme
    that catalyzes the transfer of phosphate groups. The part of the receptor protein
    extending into the cytoplasm functions more specifically as a tyrosine kinase, an
    enzyme that catalyzes the transfer of a phosphate group from ATP to the amino
    acid tyrosine on a substrate protein. Thus, RTKs are membrane receptors that
    attach phosphates to tyrosines. One RTK may activate ten or more different
    transduction pathways and cellular responses. Often, more than one signal
    transduction pathway can be triggered at once, helping the cell regulate and
    coordinate many aspects of cell growth and cell reproduction. The ability of a
    single ligand-binding event to trigger so many pathways is a key difference
    between RTKs and GPCRs, which activate a single transduction pathway.
    Abnormal RTKs that function even in the absence of signaling molecules are
    associated with many kinds of cancer.
    3) Ion channel receptors
    A ligand-gated ion channel is a type of membrane receptor containing a region
    that can act as a gate when the receptor changes shape. When a signaling
    molecule binds as a ligand to the receptor protein, the gate opens or closes,
    allowing or blocking the flow of specific ions, such as Na+ or Ca2+, through a
    channel in the receptor. Like the other receptors we have discussed, these
    proteins bind the ligand at a specific site on their extracellular sides. Ligandgated ion channels are very important in the nervous system. For example, the
    neurotransmitter molecules released at a synapse between two nerve cells (see
    Figure 11.5b) bind as ligands to ion channels on the receiving cell, causing the
    channels to open. Ions flow in (or, in some cases, out), triggering an electrical
    signal that propagates down the length of the receiving cell. Some gated ion
    channels are controlled by electrical signals instead of ligands; these voltagegated ion channels are also crucial to the functioning of the nervous system, as
    we will discuss in Chapter 48. Some ion channels are present on membranes of
    organelles, such as the ER.

    Intracellular Receptors
    Intracellular receptor proteins are found in either the cytoplasm or nucleus of
    target cells. To reach such a receptor, a signaling molecule passes through the
    target cells plasma membrane. A number of important signaling molecules can do
    this because they are either hydrophobic enough or small enough to cross the
    hydrophobic interior of the membrane. These hydrophobic chemical messengers
    include the steroid hormones and thyroid hormones of animals. Another chemical
    signaling molecule with an intracellular receptor is nitric oxide (NO), a gas; its very
    small molecules readily pass between the membrane phospholipids. Once a
    hormone has entered a cell, it may bind to an intracellular receptor in the cytoplasm

    or the nucleus. The binding changes the receptor into a hormone-receptor complex
    that is able to cause a responsein many cases, the turning on or off of particular
    genes.

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