BIO 320 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Cytosol, Second Messenger System, Diglyceride
Document Summary
Cell signaling involves some kind of molecular switch so that an enzymatic activity can be turned on or off. This switch often involves a conformational change- whether through modification of protein binding . What is the difference between a slow and a rapid response to ligand-receptor binding? Activating an enzyme via phosphorylation vs initiating transcription, translation, modification, etc. Think about negative feedback-loops for both of these types of responses. A cell knows it"s alive and well based on certain signals. No signals you have no neighbors and therefore you should probably die as well. The response it triggers depends on the cell identity. This is because different cell types are distinguished by their component proteins. These proteins are responsible for carrying out the downstream effects of ligand-receptor binding. Additionally, one ligand can have multiple receptors that are seen on different cell types. +/- phosphate and the gtpase cycle: do not assume phosphorylation activates a protein.
