New Developments on Signal Transduction Research

Download or read book New Developments on Signal Transduction Research written by Masayoshi Yamaguchi and published by Nova Biomedical Books. This book was released on 2013-01-01 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Signal transduction plays a pivotal role in cell regulation. Hormones, cytokines and neurotransmitters bind to their specific receptors in the plasma membranes of cells. The receptors of many hormones are coupled to G-protein coupled signaling pathways. Insulin and growth factors are coupled to receptor-linked kinase. The second messenger is generated in cells once the first messenger binds to the receptors of plasma membranes. Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cyclic AMP), inositol 1,3,5-triphosphate (IP3) and calcium ion (Ca2+) have been demonstrated to play a role as a second messenger in cells. The pivotal role of Ca2+ in cellular regulation was established with the finding of calmodulin and protein kinase C that modulates the effect of Ca2+ in the regulation of cellular functions. Many receptor classes and their downstream kinases activate Erk, Akt, Stat, Smad, NF-?B and other cascades to regulate gene expression and cellular function. This book provides recent research in the study of the new developments in signaling transduction in cells.