Biology › Section E · Cell communication and the cell cycle › Topic E.2
Passing on and responding to a signal
A ligand binding its receptor is only the handshake. What follows is the conversation: a relay of shape changes, phosphate tags, and small messengers that carries the signal through the cytoplasm, amplifies it, and ends in a handful of responses - a new protein, a burst of fuel, cell division, or the cell's own orderly death.
In this topic
- From binding to a cascade
- Phosphorylation: the cell's sticky notes
- Second messengers: calcium and cAMP
- Second messengers: IP3 and DAG
- Response: new proteins
- Response: a burst of fuel
- Response: divide - or not
- Response: programmed death
- Worked example: dye in the dish
- Worked example: the locked switch
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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