EXAM 2 CH5 VOCAB Flashcards
Signal Transduction Pathway
The series of biochemical steps whereby a stimulus to a cell (i.e.: hormone or neurotransmitter binding to receptor) is translated into a response of the cell.
Channel Protein
An integral membrane protein that forms an aqueous passageway across the membrane in which it is inserted and through which specific solutes can pass.
Transmembrane Protein
An integral protein that spans the phospholipid biolayer.
Hormone
A chemical signal produced in minute amounts at one site in a multicellular organism and transported to another site where it acts on target cells.
Autocrine
A chemical signal that binds to and affects the cell that makes it.
Paracrine
Pertaining to a chemical signal, such as a hormone, that acts locally, near the site of its secretion.
Primary Active Transport
Active transport in which ATP is hydrolyzed, yielding the energy required to transport an ion or molecule against its concentration gradient.
cAMP (cyclic Adenine Triphosphate)Paracrine
A compound formed from ATP that acts as a second messenger.
G protein
A membrane protein involved in signal transduction; characterized by binding GDP or GTP.
G protein-linked receptors
A class of receptors that change configuration upon ligand binding such that a G protein binding site is exposed on the cytoplasmic domain of the receptor, initiating a signal transduction pathway.
Protein Kinase
An enzyme that catalyzes the addition of a phosphate group from ATP to a target protein.
Integral membrane protein
Proteins that are at least partially embedded in the plasma membrane.
Receptor Protein
A protein that can bind to a specific molecule, or detect a specific stimulus, within the cell or in the cell’s external environment.
