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Cell Communication Notes

Cell communication involves the transmission of signals between cells via chemical messengers like hormones and neurotransmitters. These signals are received by membrane receptors and transduced into intracellular responses through pathways involving second messengers and protein phosphorylation cascades. Disruptions to signal transduction pathways can alter cellular responses and lead to diseases. Understanding these pathways allows manipulation of biological systems through medicines and agricultural applications.

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152 views

Cell Communication Notes

Cell communication involves the transmission of signals between cells via chemical messengers like hormones and neurotransmitters. These signals are received by membrane receptors and transduced into intracellular responses through pathways involving second messengers and protein phosphorylation cascades. Disruptions to signal transduction pathways can alter cellular responses and lead to diseases. Understanding these pathways allows manipulation of biological systems through medicines and agricultural applications.

Uploaded by

elyssa
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Cell Communication Notes

- Cell Communication= External signals are converted into responses within the cell
o All cells (prokaryotes and eukaryotes) communicate Examples:

- Cells (in multicellular organisms) communicate by a variety of chemical signals. Some


examples are:
1. Hormones, such as insulin- Produced in one tissue, travel through bloodstream,
interact with certain cells to change cell activity.
2. Neurotransmitters, such as dopamine- Released by one nerve cell (neuron), travels
very short distance to adjacent neuron, stimulates nerve cell activity

Signal Transduction Pathways


- Convert signals on a cell’s surface into cellular responses

How do different organisms use cell communication?


Single cells- Yeast cells (Single Cells) identify their mates by cell signaling; bacteria respond to
population density
Multicellular Organisms-
o Examples:
1. Epinephrine stimulation of glycogen breakdown in mammals
2. Temperature determination of sex in some vertebrate organisms, such as some turtles,
American alligator, etc.
3. DNA repair mechanisms

- Cell Junctions- Multicellular Organisms- Plant and animal cells have cell junctions that
directly connect the cytoplasm of adjacent cells
- Direct contact- Animal cells; examples: Immune cells such as antigen-presenting cells
helper T-cells and killer T- cells.
- Local Regulators- Short distances. Animal cells; examples: Paracrine and Synaptic
- Long distance signaling- Both plants and animals use hormones; examples:
neurotransmitters, plant immune response, embryonic development, quorum (population
control) sensing in bacteria

Sutherland suggested that cells receiving signals went through three processes:
1. Reception
2. Transduction
3. Response

Reception- A signal molecule binds to a receptor protein, causing it to change shape


• The binding between signal molecule (ligand) and receptor is highly specific
• A conformational change in a receptor is often the initial transduction of the signal
• Intracellular receptors are cytoplasmic or nuclear proteins
• Signal molecules that are small or hydrophobic and can readily cross the plasma
membrane use these receptors

There are three main types of membrane receptors:


1. G-protein-linked receptors
2. Tyrosine kinases receptors
3. Ion channel receptors

G- Protein linked receptors


3 components- all allosteric proteins that that can change shape in response to signal:
1. Receptor proteins- spans plasma membrane, has receptor site on outside, binding site for
G-protein on inside
2. G- protein- loosely attached to inner membrane
a. Acts like on-off switch
b. Inactive form when bound to GDP
c. Active form when bound to GTP
d. G-protein soon breaks GTP down to GDP, so “on” stat switches back to “off”
3. Target- usually a membrane bound enzyme
a. Enzyme is inactive until activated by active G-protein

Examples that use G-proteins:


- Many hormone receptors
- Many neurotransmitters
- Vision and smell in humans
- Bacterial infections (botulism, cholera, etc.) produce toxins that interfere with G-
proteins, leading to disease symptons
- As many as 60% of all medicines sold today act by influencing G- protein pathways

Transduction- Cascades of molecular interactions relay signals from receptors to target


molecules in the cell
1. Protein Phosphorylation
- Multistep pathways- can amplify a signal and provide more opportunities for
coordination and regulation
- At each step in a pathway
– The signal is transduced into a different form, commonly a conformational change
in a protein
– Include phosphorylation cascades
- A series of protein kinases (enzymes) add a phosphate to the next one in line, activating it
– Phosphatase enzymes then remove the phosphates
– Kinases are often linked: Kinase 1 activates kinase 2, which activates kinase 3, etc
to final target.
2. Second Messengers
- Second messengers- are small, non-protein, water-soluble molecules or ions
- Example= cyclic AMP (cAMP)
- cAMP is made from ATP by enzyme adenyl cyclase (often activated by G-protein)
- cAMP acts like an intracellular hormone, stimulating variety of effects thatdiffers from
tissue to tissue
- Many G-proteins trigger the formation of cAMP, which then acts as a second messenger
in cellular pathways
- Ca++ is an important second messenger because cells are able to regulate its concentration
in the cytosol
- Other second messengers such as inositol triphosphate and diacylglycerol
• Can trigger an increase in calcium in the cytosol

Response: Cell signaling leads to regulation of cytoplasmic activities or transcription


• Cells use multi step pathways for amplification
• Each activated component can turn “on”, or activate multiple copies of many different
target molecules
• The more steps involved, the bigger the final number of activated products = activation
cascade.
• The different combinations of proteins in a cell give the cell great specificity in both the
signals it detects and the responses it carries out
• Other pathways regulate genes by activating transcription factors that turn genes on or off
• Signal response is terminated quickly by the reversal of ligand binding

Changes in Signal Transduction pathways can alter cellular response


- Conditions where signal transduction is blocked/defective
- Examples:
o Diabetes, heart disease, neurological disease, autoimmune disease, cancer, cholera
o Effects of neurotoxins, poisons, and pesticides
o Drugs

So why do we care?
• Allows humans to modify and manipulate biological systems and physiology.
• Human example: Knowing about the endocrine system allowed for the creation of birth
control pills and medicines to control blood pressure, depression, and metabolism
• Other examples: Agricultural production and modifying ripening in fruit

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