Lecture 8. Cell to Cell Communication Flashcards
What are the two categories of cell signaling ?
- Contact dependent/Juxtacrine signaling
2. Secreted molecules
What are the types of juxtacrine signaling ?
- Gap junctions
- Plasmodesmata
- Notch
What are the types of secreted molecule signaling ?
- Autocrine signaling
- Paracrine signaling
- Endocrine signaling
- Paracrine signaling synaptic
What is juxtacrine signaling ?
The direct connection of adjacent cells by tiny channels that allow the movement of intracellular signaling molecules between cells
What do gap junctions provide ?
Cytoplasmic channels from one cell to an adjacent cell
What do gap junctions consist of ?
Membrane proteins called transmembrane connexins extending from the membrane of two cells
In gap junctions, what do the transmembrane connexins create ?
Pores
What are gap junctions necessary for ?
Communication between cells in many tissues such as heart muscle and in animal embryo
What are cardiomyocytes ?
Heart muscles which contract to make the heart beat
What is the lifecycle of a cardiomyocyte ?
They pump blood around the body from the moment of development of the heart in the womb until the moment of death
What is a characteristic of cardiomyocytes ?
They are autorhythmic
What is meant by autorhythmic ?
They generate their own action potential and rather than having a resting membrane potential they have a constantly cycling, changing membrane potential
What are the connections between cardiomyocytes called ?
Intercalated discs
What do intercalated discs contain ?
Anchoring proteins called desmosomes and the gap junctions
What do gap junctions form in cardiomyocytes ?
Channels between adjacent cardiac muscle fibres that allow the depolarising current produced by cations to flow from one cardiac muscle to the next
What are the gap junctions connecting the cardiomyocytes known as ?
Electrical coupling
What does electrical coupling in cardiac muscles allow ?
The quick transmission of action potentials and the coordinated contraction of the entire heart
What is the functional unit of contraction ?
Functional syncytium
What are plasmodesmata ?
Gaps that connect plant cells
What is inside the plasmodesmata ?
- A tubule of endoplasmic reticulum
2. Cytoplasmic sleece
What are the two ways that molecules can move through the plasmodesmata ?
- Proteins can move through the endoplasmic reticulum
2. Most things pass through the cytoplasmic sleeve
Why can most molecules pass through the cytoplasmic sleeve in the plasmodesmata ?
The cytoplasm is effectively continuous in between one cell and the next
Why is the effectively continuous cytoplasm important in plants ?
Allows metabolites, protein and nucleic acid to move between cells rapidly
What is the negative side of the continuous cytoplasmic sleeve ?
Viruses can spread rapidly through the plant
Why is notch signaling important ?
It is important in a number in developmental decisions, learning, memory and glial support of neurons
What is notch ?
A receptor molecule
Where is notch expressed ?
On the cell surface
What does notch interact with ?
Ligands on the cell surface
What are the ligands that notch interacts with in humans called ?
- Delta
2. Jagged
What are delta and jagged ?
Transmembrane proteins which have extracellular portions largely made up of EGF domains that allow interactions
What happens when delta binds to notch ?
An extracellular protease called ADAM10 carries out an S2 cleavage of notch by removing the extracellular domain to form an S3 protein