Ch11-Cell Communication Worksheet

Ch.
11 Worksheet – Cell Communication
Cell Communication is key to development, regulation, and functioning multicellular

organisms, as well as communication between unicellular organisms. Many of the
mechanisms and molecules involved are similar across most or all forms of life, providing
support for evolutionary relatedness.
Refer to your textbook and class slides/notes as needed when answering the following questions:
1. Briefly summarize your understanding of cell signaling. i.e. what is it and what purpose(s)
does it serve?
The cell-signaling process helps ensure that crucial activities occur in the right cells, at the right
time, and in proper coordination with the activities of other cells of the organism.
2. What are the three major steps/processes in cell signaling? (if not already answered above).
Use appropriate vocabulary from this chapter in your answer.
a. Signal reception
i. Reception is the target cell’s 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 cell’s surface (or inside the cell).
b. Signal transduction
i. Converts the signal from a signalling molecule to the receptor protein to a form
that can create a specific cellular response.
ii. Sometimesone step, but usually a sequence of changes in a series of different
molecules
1. Signal transduction pathway
2. Molecules in the pathway are often called relay molecules.
c. Cellular response
i. The response from the transduced signal
1. “The response may be almost any imaginable cellular activity—such as
catalysis by an enzyme, rearrangement of the cytoskeleton, or activation
of specific genes in the nucleus. “
3. Describe three ways in which cells can communicate with other cells
a. Paracrine signaling
i. Local signaling
ii. Signaling molecules are secreted by the signaling cell and travel only short
distances, only influencing nearby cells
b. Synaptic signaling
i. Local signaling
ii. Occurs in the animal nervous system
iii. An electrical signal along a nerve cell triggers the secretion of neurotransmitter
molecules. These molecules act as chemical signals, diffusing across the
synapse—the narrow space between the nerve cell and its target cell—triggering a
response in the target cell
c. Endocrine signaling
i. Long distance signaling
ii. Hormonal signaling in animals
iii. Specialized cells release hormones, which travel through the circulatory system to
other parts of the body, where they reach target cells that can recognize and
respond to them
4. Name a disease or disorder that results from a cell signaling disorder and briefly describe how
the alteration in signaling leads to the disorder.
Breast cancer patients have tumor cells with excessive HER2(an RTK). Dysregulation of RTKs in
breast cancer cells leads to accelerated tumor growth, angiogenesis and metastasis through the
activation of various downstream signaling pathways
5. Define the following terms (in your own words as much as possible, so that you really
understand what you are writing):
Ligand
Molecule that binds specifically to another molecule, usually a larger one.
Receptor protein
Proteins that recognize and stick to ligand molecules
Transduction
The linkage of a mechanical, chemical, or electromagnetic stimulus to a specific cellular response.
Protein kinase and phosphatase

Protein kinase: Enzyme that transfers phosphate groups from ATP to a protein.
Protein phosphatase: Enzyme that removes phosphate groups from proteins.
Second messenger
Molecule that relays messages in a cell from a receptor to a target where an action within the cell
takes plac
Hormone
Type of secreted chemical formed in specialized cells which travels in body fluids and changes
specific cells’ functioning.
Apoptosis (include an explanation of the picture below in your answer)

Cell suicide brought about by activation of enzymes that break down many chemical components
in the cell.
When forming digits, apoptosis is used to remove cells from the interdigital region of the solid,
platelike structure.

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Ch.

11 Worksheet – Cell Communication

Cell Communication is key to development, regulation, and functioning multicellular

Protein kinase and phosphatase

Apoptosis (include an explanation of the picture below in your answer)

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