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In biology, cell signaling (cell signalling in British English) is the process by which a cell interacts with itself, other cells, and the environment. Cell signaling is a fundamental property of all cellular life in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Typically, the signaling process involves three components: the signal, the receptor, and the effector.
Synaptic signaling, an integral part of nervous system activity, occurs between neurons and target cells. These target cells can also be neurons or other cell types (i.e. muscle or gland cells). Protocadherins , a member of the cadherin family, mediate the adhesion of neurons to their target cells at synapses otherwise known as synaptic junctions.
In cellular biology, paracrine signaling is a form of cell signaling, a type of cellular communication in which a cell produces a signal to induce changes in nearby cells, altering the behaviour of those cells.
The term long-term potentiation comes from the fact that this increase in synaptic strength, or potentiation, lasts a very long time compared to other processes that affect synaptic strength. [ 1 ] In neuroscience , long-term potentiation ( LTP ) is a persistent strengthening of synapses based on recent patterns of activity.
Each gap junction (sometimes called a nexus) contains numerous gap junction channels that cross the plasma membranes of both cells. [11] With a lumen diameter of about 1.2 to 2.0 nm, [2] [12] the pore of a gap junction channel is wide enough to allow ions and even medium-size molecules like signaling molecules to flow from one cell to the next, [2] [13] thereby connecting the two cells' cytoplasm.
Changes in postsynaptic signaling are most commonly associated with a N-methyl-d-aspartic acid receptor (NMDAR)-dependent LTP and long-term depression (LTD) due to the influx of calcium into the post-synaptic cell, which are the most analyzed forms of plasticity at excitatory synapses.
Ca 2+ triggered non-constitutive exocytosis requires an external signal, a specific sorting signal on the vesicles, a clathrin coat, as well as an increase in intracellular calcium. In multicellular organisms, this mechanism initiates many forms of intercellular communication such as synaptic transmission, hormone secretion by neuroendocrine ...
The presynaptic axon terminal, or synaptic bouton, is a specialized area within the axon of the presynaptic cell that contains neurotransmitters enclosed in small membrane-bound spheres called synaptic vesicles (as well as a number of other supporting structures and organelles, such as mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum).