Signal transduction Flashcards
what are the two main systems used by the body for signalling between cells?
Hormones Electrochemical signalling (nerve signals)
What are the three main pathways of transducing extracellular signals to intracellular signals?
heterotrimetric G proteins
Receptor tyrosine kinases
Phosphoinositide cascade
Why is signalling important?
The different body parts need to co-ordinate their actions
The different cells in our body need to communicate
What are hormones classified into?
3 groups based on their action distance
What are the three main groupings of hormones?
Endocrine system
Paracrine system
Autocrine system
What is the endocrine system?
acts on cells distant from site of production and spread through the blood stream
What is the paracrine system?
Acts close to the site of production
What is the autocrine system?
Acts on the cell that produced the hormone
What is an example of the endocrine system?
Insulin
Epinephrine
What is an example of the paracrine system?
Interleukine-1 in the immune system
What is an example of the autocrine system?
Interleukine-2 in the immune system
What are the three functions of the endocrine system?
Maintains homeostasis
Responds to external stimuli
Follow various cycle
What does it mean by maintaining homeostasis?
The blood glucose level is strictly regulated by insulin and glucagon
What does it mean by responding to external stimuli?
Preparation for “fight or flight” using epinephrine and norepinephrine
What cycles does the endocrine system regulate?
Maturation
Menstrual cycle
What form are hormones often in?
Polypeptides, steroids or amino acid derivatives
Where do hormones go in the body?
They can travel all around the body because they are carried by the blood stream but they only interact with target cells
What do cells have?
Receptors specific to certain hormones
What cells respond to insulin and glucagon?
Muscle
Liver
Adipose
What do the muscles around blood vessels respond to? What do they do?
Respond to epinephrine
They increase or decrease blood flow when needed
What does the pancreas produce?
Insulin
Glucagon
Somatostatin
What does the pancreas contain?
Scattered clumps of cells called islets of Langerhans
What is insulin released by?
High blood glucose levels
What does insulin do?
Stimulate muscle, liver and adipose cells to absorb and store glucose
What is glucagon released by?
Low blood glucose level
What does glucagon do?
Stimulates liver and adipose cells to release glucose and fatty acids
What does somatostatin do?
Inhibit insulin and glucagon release
Why is the structure of thyroid considered strange?
Contains halogens
What two substances does the thyroid release?
Triiodothryonine (T3)
Thyroxine (T4)
What do T3 and T4 do?
Increase metabolism in most tissues
How are T3 and T4 transported and why?
Through the blood by carrier proteins because they are not water soluble so they are hard to transport in any other way
What type of carrier proteins are used for T3 and T4 transportation?
Thyroxine-binding globin
In the cells nucleus, what do T3 and T4 bind to?
Receptors that increase transcription rate of metabolic enzymes
What is the effect of iodine deficiency in T3 and T4?
Leads to goitre
Increased size of thyroid, causes swelling