CHAPTER 7 Flashcards
which ways can cells process information from the environment?
-the information can be a chemical or a physical stimulus
-EX: light
where cans signals come from?
-outside the organism or from neighboring cells
define signal transduction pathway
-a sequence of events that lead to a cell’s response to a signal
-signal transduction is highly regulated
what are the types of chemical signals?
-autocrine
-juxtacrine
-paracrine
-hormones
define autocrine
-signals affect the cells that made them
define paracrine
-signals affect nearby cells
define juxtacrine
-signals affect only adjacent (neighboring) cells
hormones
travel to distant cells, usually via the circulatory system
what are the elements of a signal transduction pathway?
-a signal, a receptor, and a response
-A cell’s response to a signal requires a receptor specific to that signal, often found at the cell membrane.
-Signal-receptor interaction occurs, amplifying the signal’s effects.
-Responses can involve activated or inactivated enzymes and transcription factors.
define crosstalk
-signal transduction pathways can be interconnected
How are signal transduction pathways interconnected?
Signal pathways can interact through crosstalk. This means that one activated protein might trigger multiple pathways, pathways can merge, and one pathway might be activated while another is deactivated.
receptor
-proteins have very specific binding sites for chemical signal molecules, or ligands
define ligands
-Any molecule that binds to a receptor site of another (usually larger) molecule.
-the ligands fit into a three-dimensional site on its receptor and causes the receptor protein to change shape
-the binding is reversible and the ligand is not altered
what can happen between molecules that are similar to ligands chemically?
they can both use the same receptor protein
what is the receptor ligand bonding formula
R + L ←→ RL
what does binding and dissociation have? what happens at equilibrium?
-they each have a rate constant
-at equilibrium rate of binding equals rate of dissociation
what is the equation of the equilibrium rate
k1[R][L] = k2[RL]
what is the formula for dissociation constant(KD)?
[R][L]/[RL] = k2/k1 = KD
what is the dissociation constant(KD) ?
-KD, is a measure of the affinity (attraction) of the receptor for its ligand.
what is the relationship between affinity and dissociation(KD) constant?
-having a lower dissociation content means you have greater affinity
-having a higher dissociation content means you have smaller affinity
what does low dissociation constant (KD) values allow?
-this allows them to bind to very low ligand concentrations
what is the dissociation constant value important for
-ligands functions as drugs
-the value is important when determining dosages
what are other chemicals that resemble ligands that can also bind to receptors?
-agonists
-antagonists
define agonists
-having the same effect as a the ligand