Cell communication and signal transduction

Learning objectives

Describe the ways cells communicate over short and long distances, including direct contact, local regulators, neurotransmitters at synapses and hormones carried in the bloodstream

Describe the three stages of signal transduction — reception by a receptor, transduction through a pathway that may include second messengers and phosphorylation cascades, and the cellular response

Explain why a signaling pathway amplifies a signal, and why a mutation in one component can produce a constant response or no response at all

Explain how chemicals that block a receptor or mimic a ligand change the cellular response, and predict the effect of removing a named step from a pathway

Interpret a model of a signaling pathway to justify a claim about the effect of a described change on the cell's response