Diabetes: Cell Signaling

Cell Communication and Cell Membranes: Cell signaling

Cells are in communication with each  other and with the  external environment. Cell membranes can receive signals such as hormones, and respond to them. Cells can respond to very small amounts of a hormone, and have a very large response. How do they do that?

This process is called cell signaling and it has 3 steps:

1. Reception:

• • • Cell membranes have receptors ( nearly always a protein). 
    • Receptors match specific signals
    • When the right signal fits into the right shaped receptor this triggers a response on the other side of the membrane. 

2. Signal Transduction

This is a big fancy word that means that the cell amplifies the signal. It does this in the following way

• • The receptor is activated by the signal (reception)
  • The receptor then activates a molecule on the INSIDE of the cell.

• • That molecule ( usually a protein) activates a bunch of other molecules in the cytoplasm
  • Those molecules activate even more molecules
  • This creates a cascade of responses that means 1 signal molecule --> activated 1 protein --> activate 10 proteins --> which each activate 10 more proteins each-->. etc
  • This picture does a good job of showing how one signal molecule ended up activating ALOT of proteins. 

3. Response 

Those activated proteins then move out across the cell and cause some response. The specific  nature of the response depends on what the signal was and the transduction pathway.   An example that you are familiar with is this

• Signal = insulin
• Transduction pathway = very long and complex!
• Response= cell is able to absorb glucose.