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Cell junctions [1] or junctional complexes are a class of cellular structures consisting of multiprotein complexes that provide contact or adhesion between neighboring cells or between a cell and the extracellular matrix in animals. [2] They also maintain the paracellular barrier of epithelia and control paracellular transport. Cell junctions ...
Autocrine signaling occurs when the chemical signal acts on the same cell that produced the signaling chemical. [1] Intracrine signaling occurs when the chemical signal produced by a cell acts on receptors located in the cytoplasm or nucleus of the same cell. [2] Juxtacrine signaling occurs between physically adjacent cells. [3]
In biochemistry and pharmacology, receptors are chemical structures, composed of protein, that receive and transduce signals that may be integrated into biological systems. [1] These signals are typically chemical messengers [ nb 1 ] which bind to a receptor and produce physiological responses such as change in the electrical activity of a cell .
Signal transduction is the process by which a chemical or physical signal is transmitted through a cell as a series of molecular events.Proteins responsible for detecting stimuli are generally termed receptors, although in some cases the term sensor is used. [1]
There are three basic types of secondary messenger molecules: [citation needed] Hydrophobic molecules: water-insoluble molecules such as diacylglycerol, and phosphatidylinositols, which are membrane-associated and diffuse from the plasma membrane into the intermembrane space where they can reach and regulate membrane-associated effector proteins.
It is not only the presence or absence of a signal that is important but also the strength. Using a chemical gradient to coordinate cell growth and differentiation continues to be important as multicellular animals and plants become more complex. This type of intercellular communication within an organism is commonly referred to as cell signalling.
Autocrine signaling is a form of cell signaling in which a cell secretes a hormone or chemical messenger (called the autocrine agent) that binds to autocrine receptors on that same cell, leading to changes in the cell. [1] This can be contrasted with paracrine signaling, intracrine signaling, or classical endocrine signaling.
[83] [84] Refinement of these studies suggested that gap junctions were key in the development of cell polarity [85] and the left-right symmetry in animals. [ 86 ] [ 87 ] While signaling that determines the position of body organs appears to rely on gap junctions, so does the more fundamental differentiation of cells at later stages of ...