Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Their function is to give shape and tension to cells and tissues and they are also the site of cell-cell signaling. Adherens junctions are made of cell adhesion molecules from the cadherin family. There are over 100 types of cadherins, corresponding to the many different types of cells and tissues with varying anchoring needs.
The signaling molecule binds to the receptor on the outside of the cell and causes a conformational change on the catalytic function located on the receptor inside the cell. [citation needed] Examples of the enzymatic activity include: Receptor tyrosine kinase, as in fibroblast growth factor receptor. Most enzyme-linked receptors are of this type.
There are three basic types of secondary messenger molecules: [citation needed] Hydrophobic molecules: water-insoluble molecules such as diacylglycerol, and phosphatidylinositols, which are membrane-associated and diffuse from the plasma membrane into the intermembrane space where they can reach and regulate membrane-associated effector proteins.
[38] [39] Many of these are co-released along with a small-molecule transmitter. Nevertheless, in some cases, a peptide is the primary transmitter at a synapse. Beta-Endorphin is a relatively well-known example of a peptide neurotransmitter because it engages in highly specific interactions with opioid receptors in the central nervous system.
Signal transduction is the process by which a chemical or physical signal is transmitted through a cell as a series of molecular events.Proteins responsible for detecting stimuli are generally termed receptors, although in some cases the term sensor is used. [1]
A molecule that binds to a receptor is called a ligand and can be a protein, peptide (short protein), or another small molecule, such as a neurotransmitter, hormone, pharmaceutical drug, toxin, calcium ion or parts of the outside of a virus or microbe. An endogenously produced substance that binds to a particular receptor is referred to as its ...
Cellular models are instrumental in dissecting a complex pathological process into simpler molecular events. Parkinson's disease (PD) is multifactorial and clinically heterogeneous; the aetiology of the sporadic (and most common) form is still unclear and only a few molecular mechanisms have been clarified so far in the neurodegenerative ...
For example, curare is a poison that stops acetylcholine from depolarizing the postsynaptic membrane, causing paralysis. Strychnine blocks the inhibitory effects of the neurotransmitter glycine , which causes the body to pick up and react to weaker and previously ignored stimuli, resulting in uncontrollable muscle spasms .