Cell Signalling starts with a brief history and general principles of cell signalling. It then turns to an examination of signals and their perception. It also discusses modifications to proteins that control cell signalling. Next, it looks at intracellular signals. The text also covers cell development before explaining cell signalling disorders, cancers, and apoptosis. Towards the end, the text moves on to stress responses and the changing cell environment. Finally, the book looks to the future, including challenges and perspectives in cell signalling, such as how its manipulation may enable new medical treatments or increase efficiency in agriculture.
Chapter
Insulin and the signal transduction cascades it invokes
This chapter uses insulin signalling as an example of biological systems. As the chapter discusses, once insulin has been produced, transported, and perceived, a surprisingly diverse signalling transduction mechanism may be used to bring about the final alteration of cellular function. The chapter also highlights the importance of signalling to normal cellular function, as well as its contribution to the wellbeing of an organism. The chapter also investigates how insulin leads to a complex web of intracellular signalling that involves many components. It then explores how insulin may lead to modulation of many facets of metabolism, often through an influence on nuclear events. Lastly, the chapter reviews the dephosphorylation of various proteins involved in insulin signalling.
Chapter
Molecular Signaling within Neurons
Edited by George J. Augustine, Jennifer Groh, Scott Huettel, Anthony-Samuel LaMantia, Leonard E. White, and Dale Purves,
This chapter assesses the events within neurons and other cells that are triggered by the interaction of a chemical signal with its receptor. This intracellular processing typically begins when extracellular chemical signals bind to specific receptors located either on the surface or in the cytoplasm or nucleus of the target cells. Such binding activates the receptors and in so doing stimulates cascades of intracellular reactions involving GTP-binding proteins, second-messenger molecules, protein kinases, ion channels, and many other effector proteins whose modulation temporarily changes the physiological state of the target cell. These same intracellular signal transduction pathways can also cause longer-lasting changes by altering the transcription of genes. The large number of components involved in intracellular signaling pathways allows precise temporal and spatial control over the function of individual neurons, thereby enabling control and coordination of the activity of neurons that comprise neural circuits and systems.
Chapter
Intracellular Signals
This chapter discusses the need for intracellular signalling and talks about signalling pathways that involve cAMP. It clarifies how G proteins are involved in signalling and can mediate disease. It also shows how cGMP is involved in signalling. It then highlights the use of inositol compounds in signalling and points out the importance of calcium ions in signalling events. The chapter focuses on the modulation of the concentration of molecules that are involved in relaying the message into and across the inner structures of the cell. It specifically explains how cyclic nucleotides, lipid-derived compounds, inositol-based compounds, calcium ions, and proteins are involved in mediating some of the signalling pathways.
