Part 8
Cell communication
Individual cells Multicellular
Need to sense and respond to their environment More complicated
Cells must interpret the multitude of
Must be able to communicate with other cells
signals coordinate their behavior
Yeast cells respond to mating factor
Budding yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) cells are
normally spherical (A), but when they are exposed to
an appropriate mating factor produced by neighboring Stages of embryo development in culture
yeast cells (B), they extend a protrusion (các thể
nhô/lồi ra) toward the source of the factor. During animal development, for example, cells
(courtesy of Michael Snyder.) in the embryo exchange signals to determine
which specialized role each cell will adopt, what
position it will occupy in the animal, and
whether it will survive, divide, or die
GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF CELL SIGNALING ?
1. Reception
2. Transduction
3. Response
How can Cells detect what's going on around them, and can respond in real time?
A ligand is a molecule that binds another
specific molecule (receptor), in some
cases, delivering a signal in the process Receptors are protein molecules inside
the target cell or on its surface that
receive a chemical signal (ligand)
Ligand: signaling molecule a specific ligand will have a specific receptor
Types of ligands
Ligands can enter the cells:
Small, hydrophobic ligands can pass through the plasma membrane and bind to intracellular receptors
Ex. Steroid Hormone, vitamin D
Ligands that bind on the outside of the cell
Water-soluble ligands (polar or charged ) cannot cross the plasma membrane
Peptide (protein) ligands make up the largest and most diverse class
Ex. Hormones such as insulin
Types of receptors Internal receptors
+ Found in the cytoplasm of the cell
+ Respond to ligands that cross the cell membrane into the cell. (Ligand: small, hydrophobic (water-
hating) molecules: ex. Hormone)
+ Have a direct effect on protein production by binding directly to the DNA.
Types of receptors Cell-surface receptors
+ Found on the cell membrane
+ Bind to ligands that do not cross the cell membrane
The cell- surface receptors response
+ Open a channel to allow ions to pass through the membrane (Ligand-gated ion channels)
+ Activate an enzyme that sets off a response inside the cell (Receptor tyrosine kinases)
+ Activate a protein which is not an enzyme, but which can affect other cell components (G protein-
coupled receptors)
The same signaling molecule may produce different results
Cell
No distance APC: antigen presenting cell
Cell
Cell
Cell Short
communication distance
Cell
Cell
Long distance Cell Cell
Cell
No distance
MHCII: Protein major histocompatibility
complex (MHC) molecules
TCR: T cell receptors
Short
distance
Long distance
All the cell in the body receive the
same message from growth hormone
(E) Autocrine signaling
Target sites on same cell
To remain a local stimulus,
paracrine signal molecules must be
prevented from straying too far from
their points of origin. Suggest
different ways by which this could be
accomplished. Explain your answers.
1. Reception
2. Transduction
3. Response
Signal transduction
A signal: is a function that conveys information about a phenomenon
Signal transduction: The process whereby one type of signal is converted to another
(A) When a mobile telephone receives a radio signal, it converts it into a
sound signal; when transmitting a signal, it does the reverse. (B) a target
cell converts an extracellular signal molecule (molecule a) into an
intracellular signaling molecule (molecule B).
Signal transduction *Only occurs with cell-surface receptors
Phosphorylation
Kinases are a type of enzyme that adds a phosphate group to another molecule (including other
proteins). This is called phosphorylation. Phosphorylation can activate or deactivate other
proteins.
Signal transduction
Phosphorylation
Phosphorylation example: MAPK signaling cascade
MAPK/Erk in Growth and Differentiation
MAPK/Erk in Growth and Differentiation
Signal transduction
Second messengers
+Small molecules that help to spread a signal through the cytoplasm after a ligand binds to a
receptor
+ Ex. Cyclic AMP (cAMP); calcium ions
Adrenaline stimulates glycogen
breakdown in skeletal muscle cells.
1. Reception
2. Transduction
3. Response
The same signal molecule can induce different responses in different target cells
An animal cell depends on multiple extracellular signals
Quick: changes in cell
movement, secretion, or
metabolism— need not
involve changes in gene
expression
Slow: cell differentiation or
increased cell growth and
division—involve changes in
gene expression and the
Extracellular signals can act slowly or rapidly. synthesis of new proteins
The components of these intracellular
signaling pathways perform one or more
crucial functions
1. They can simply relay the signal onward and
thereby help spread it through the cell.
2. They can amplify the signal received, making
it stronger, so that a few extracellular signal
molecules are enough to evoke a large
intracellular response.
3.They can detect signals from more than one
intracellular signaling pathway and integrate
them before relaying a signal onward.
4. They can distribute the signal to more than
Many extracellular signals act via cell-surface one effector protein, creating branches in the
receptors to change the behavior of the target information flow diagram and evoking a
cell complex response.
Cellular responses to signals
+ Changes in gene expression: an increase or decrease in the production of a protein produced
by a specific gene.
+ An increase in cellular metabolism: the conversion of glucose to glycogen (and back) can be
regulated depending on the energy needs of the cell.
+ Cell growth: cells do not normally divide unless they are stimulated by signals from other cells.
+ Cell death: apoptosis is controlled cell death; cells can be stimulated die if they are abnormal,
infected with a bacteria or virus, or during specific parts of development.
