Unit 3 Test Flashcards
Which organelle is key to cell signaling?
The plasma membrane
What directly connects the cytoplasm in adjacent cells?
Gap junctions in animal cells and plasmodesmata in animal cells
What are the types of Local and long distance cell signaling?
Local
- Junctions(cell to cell)
- Paracrine
- Synaptic
Long distance
1. Endocrine/hormone signaling
What is paracrine signaling?
A secreting cell acts on nearby target cells by discharging molecules of a local regulator into the extracellular fluid. This secreting cell has a vesicle bond to the membrane and conduct exocytosis
What is synaptic signaling? Where does this occur?
An electric signal causes a nerve cell to release neurotransmitter molecules into a synapse(gap between cells), stimulating a target cell. This occurs in the nervous system of animals
What is long distance signaling?
Specialized endocrine cells secret hormones into body fluids, often blood. Hormones reach virtually all body cells but are bound by only some cells
What are local regulators? Where do they come from?
Messenger molecules secreted by a signaling cell in the process of paracrine signaling
What are growth factors?
A class of local regulators that stimulate nearby target cells to grow and divide(paracrine signaling)
What 3 processes do cells that are receiving signals undergo?
- Reception: The target cell’s detection of a signaling molecule coming from outside the cell. A chemical signal is “detected” when the signaling molecule binds to the receptor protein located on or in the cell
- Transduction: A series of steps that converts the signal to a form that can bring about a specific cellular response
- Response: The transduced signal triggers a specific cellular response
What is a ligand?
The signal molecule binding to a receptor
What happens when a ligand bonds to a receptor cell?
The receptor usually changes shape and is activated by this shape change?
What are most signal receptors? their ligands?
Plasma membrane proteins, their ligands are generally water soluble and too large to pass freely through the plasma membrane
What are the two main types of membrane receptors?
- G protein-coupled receptors
2. Ligand-gated ion channels
What is a G protein?
A type of protein that bonds to the energy-rich molecule called GTP and a GPCR. When the GPCR is activated by a ligand, the G Protein(bound to the GTP too) goes and activates an inactive enzyme
What are G protein-coupled receptors?
plasma membrane receptors that are activated by G proteins bonding to a GTP molecule
What is a signal transduction pathway?
A sequence of changes in a series of different molecules during transduction
What are relay molecules?
The molecules(mostly proteins) in the signal transduction pathway
What is a ligand-gated ion channel? Where are these used a lot?
A receptor that acts as a “gate” for specific ions when it changes shape. It opens/closes when a signal molecule binds as a ligand. This may trigger and electric signal and is essential for the nervous system.
What is epinephrine?
A hormone that circulates through the blood, only reacting to certain cells. Initiates “fight or flight” response
What are intracellular receptors and how are they accessed?
Intracellular receptors are receptor proteins found in the cytosol or nucleus, and small or hydrophobic chemical messengers that can readily cross the membrane can activate the receptors
What are examples of intracellular receptors?
Steroid and thyroid hormones of animals and nitric oxide in plants and animals
Why are multistep pathways used in transduction?
They can amplify a signal, a few molecules can produce a large response. It provides more opportunities for coordination and regulation of cellular response than simpler systems do
What is the purpose of phosphorylation and dephosphorylation?
To regulate protein activity
What are protein kinases?
an enzyme that performs phosphorylation, they transfer phosphates from ATP to protein
What does adding phosphates to a protein do in phosphorylation?
Changes it from inactive to active
Why does phosphorylation “cascade” as it occurs?
It minimizes the amount of work necessary
What are first and second messengers?
First: The extracellular molecule(ligand) that binds to the receptor
Second: Small, nonprotein, water soluble molecules or ions that spread throughout a cell by diffusion
What is cyclic AMP?
(cAMP) A widely used secondary messenger that activates protein kinase A, which phosphorylates other proteins
What is adenylyl cyclase?
An enzyme in the plasma membrane that rapidly converts ATP to cAMP in response to a number of extracellular signals
Which part of the signal pathway is the phosphorylation cascade apart of?
Transduction
Where are intracellular receptors found?
The cytoplasm or nucleus
How can signal molecules reach intracellular proteins?
A signal cell passes through the membrane because they are hydrophobic enough to cross the hydrophobic interior of the membrane
What is a metabolic pathway?
A pathway that begins with a specific molecule and ends with a product, each step is catalyzed by enzymes
What is metabolism?
The totality of an organism’s chemical reactions
Where does metabolism come from?
Interactions between molecules within the cell
What are catabolic pathways?
Pathways that release energy by breaking down complex molecules into simpler compounds
What type of pathway is cellular respiration?
Catabolic pathway
What an anabolic pathway?
Pathways that consume energy to build complex molecules from simpler ones
What type of pathway is the synthesis of proteins?
Anabolic
What is the difference between thermal and heat energy?
Thermal energy: Kinetic energy associated with random movement of atoms or molecules
Heat: Thermal energy in transfer from one object to another
What is thermodynamics?
The study of energy transformations
What is the first law of thermodynamics?
This law states that energy in the universe is constant(cannot be created or destroyed). Also called the principle of conservation of energy
What is the second law of thermodynamics?
Every transfer or transformation of energy in the universe increases the entropy of the universe because some energy is lost as heat in every transfer/tranformation
What is entropy?
A measure of order/randomness
What is a spontaneous process? How does it affect entropy?
A spontaneous process occurs without energy input, increasing the entropy of the universe
How do catabolic and anabolic pathways work together?
Energy released from catabolic pathways are often stored and used to drive anabolic pathways
What is Gibbs free energy?
aka free energy, it is the portion of a system’s energy that can perform work when temp and pressure are uniform throughout a system
What is the change in free energy formula?
🔼G=🔼H-T🔼S
🔼H=System enthalpy
🔼S=Change in system entropy
T=Temp IN KELVIN
or
🔼G=G(final state)-G(initial state)
Why is 🔼G important?
We can use it to predict if i process is energetically favorable.
-🔼G=Can occur with no energy input(spontaneous) and vice versa
What does free energy measure?
A system’s instability, its tendency to change to a more stable state
What happens to free energy during a spontaneous change?
Free energy decreases, stability increases
What is the maximum state of stability in a rxn?
Equilibrium, forward and reverse rxns occur at the same rate. No work can be done and G is at its lowest possible value
What must a reaction be doing to be spontaneous?
Move towards equilibrium, decrease in G
What is an exergonic reaction?
A rxn with a net release of free energy, it is spontaneous and 🔼G is negative, G decreases
What is an endergonic rxn?
A rxn that absorbs free energy, is nonspontaneous, and 🔼G is positive, G increases
What does the magnitude of 🔼G represent in endergonic and exergonic rxns?
Exergonic: The maximum amount of work a rxn can perform
Endergonic: The quantity of energy required to drive the rxn
What is the key to maintaining lack of equilibrium in metabolism, a defining feature of life?
Products if reactions dont accumulate, they become reactants for the next step. Waste is expelled from the cell
What 3 kinds of work are performed by a cell?
- Chemical: Pushing of nonspontaneous/endergonic rxns, such as synthesis of polymers from monomers
- Transport: Pumping substances across membranes against the direction of spontaneous movement
- Mechanical: Contraction of muscle cells, beating of cilia, movement of chromosomes
What is energy coupling?
The use of an exergonic process to drive and endergonic one, usually mediated by ATP
What is ATP and its purpose?
ATP stands for Adenosine Triphosphate. It is composed of ribose(a sugar), adenine(a nitrogenous base) and 3 phosphate groups. It supplies energy, mediates energy coupling and is used to make RNA
How and why is ATP turned into ADP?
The bonds between the phosphate groups of ATP can be broken by hydrolysis. When the terminal phosphate bond is broken, a molecule of inorganic phosphate leaves the ATP, turning the triphosphate into diphosphate, or ADP. The rxn is exergonic and is used to drive endergonic rxns, making it exergonic overall
Where does the release of energy from hydrolyzing ATP come from?
The chemical change to a state of lower free energy, not the phosphate bond
What is a phosphorylated intermediate?
The recipient of the phosphate group(covalently bonded) that came from ATP hydrolysis
What is the key to coupling exergonic and endergonic reactions?
The formation of the phosphorylated intermediate, which is more reactive(less stable) than the unphosphorylated molecule
How does ATP Hydrolysis power transport and mechanical work?
It leads to a change in a protein’s shape and often its ability to bind to another molecule
How does ATP hydrolysis drive cell movement?
ATP is first bound noncovalently to a motor protein. Then it is hydrolyzed, releasing ADP and an inorganic phosphate group, then another ATP molecule can bind. At each stage, the motor protein changes its shape and ability to bind to the cytoskeleton, resulting in movement of the protein along the cytoskeletal track
How is ATP regenerated?
ATP is renewable and regenerated by the addition of a phosphate group to ADP. The energy to phosphorylate ADP comes from catabolic/exergonic rxns in the cell