Cell Communication

Cell Signaling
• Cell-to-cell communication is essential for
multicellular organisms
• Communicate by chemical messengers
• Animal and plant cells have cell junctions that
directly connect the cytoplasm of adjacent cells
• In local signaling, animal cells may
communicate by direct contact
 Plasma membranes

Gap junctions Plasmodesmata

between animal cells between plant cells
Cell junctions

Cell-cell recognition
 Signaling
• Local- paracrine, synaptic signaling
• Long-distance- hormonal signaling (endocrine)

Local signaling Long-distance signaling

Target cell Electrical signal Endocrine cell Blood

along nerve cell vessel
triggers release of
neurotransmitter

Neurotransmitter
Secreting Secretory diffuses across
cell vesicle synapse Hormone travels
in bloodstream
to target cells

Local regulator
diffuses through Target cell Target
extracellular fluid is stimulated cell

Paracrine signaling Synaptic signaling

Hormonal signaling
The Three Stages of Cell Signaling

• Reception
• Transduction
• Response
 Reception
• The binding between a signal molecule (ligand) and
receptor is highly specific
• A conformational change in a receptor is often the
initial transduction of the signal
• Most signal receptors are plasma membrane proteins

EXTRACELLULAR CYTOPLASM
FLUID
Plasma membrane
Reception Transduction
Receptor

Signal
molecule
 Transduction
•Usually involves multiple steps
•Multistep pathways can amplify a signal

EXTRACELLULAR CYTOPLASM
FLUID
Plasma membrane

Reception Transduction

Receptor

Relay molecules in a signal transduction

pathway

Signal
molecule
 Response
Signal transduction pathways lead to regulation of one
or more cellular activities

EXTRACELLULAR CYTOPLASM
FLUID
Plasma membrane

Reception Transduction Response

Receptor

Activation
of cellular
response
Relay molecules in a signal transduction
pathway

Signal
molecule
 Intracellular Receptors
• Some receptor proteins are intracellular, found
in the cytosol or nucleus of target cells
• Small or hydrophobic chemical messengers
(lipid steroids) can readily cross the membrane
and activate receptors
• An activated hormone-receptor complex can act
as a transcription factor, turning on specific
genes
Hormone EXTRACELLULAR
(testosterone) FLUID The steroid
hormone testosterone
passes through the
plasma membrane.

Plasma
membrane Testosterone binds
Receptor to a receptor protein
protein in the cytoplasm,
Hormone- activating it.
receptor
complex

The hormone-
receptor complex
enters the nucleus
and binds to specific
genes.
DNA

mRNA The bound protein

stimulates the
transcription of
the gene into mRNA.
NUCLEUS New protein

The mRNA is
translated into a
specific protein.
CYTOPLASM
 Receptors in the Plasma Membrane
• Most water-soluble signal molecules bind to
specific sites on receptor proteins in the plasma
membrane
• There are three main types of membrane
receptors:
– G-protein-linked receptors
– Receptor tyrosine kinases
– Ion channel receptors
 G-Protein-Linked Receptor
• A G-protein-linked receptor is a plasma membrane
receptor that works with the help of a G protein
• The G-protein acts as an on/off switch:
• GTP= active GDP= inactive

Signal-binding site

Segment that
interacts with
G proteins
 First messenger
(signal molecule
such as epinephrine)
Adenylyl
G protein cyclase

G-protein-linked GTP
receptor

ATP
Second
cAMP messenger

Protein
kinase A

Cellular responses
Ion Channel Receptor Signal
molecule
(ligand)
Gate
closed Ions

• Acts as a gate when

the receptor changes Ligand-gated
ion channel receptor
Plasma
membrane

shape
Gate open

Cellular
response

Gate closed
 Signal Transduction Pathways
• The molecules that relay a signal from receptor
to response are mostly proteins
• Behave similar to falling dominos
• At each step, the signal is transduced into a
different form, usually a conformational change

EXTRACELLULAR CYTOPLASM
FLUID Plasma membrane
Reception Transduction Response
Receptor
Activation
of cellular
Relay molecules in a signal transduction response
pathway
Signal
molecule
 Protein Phosphorylation and
Dephosphorylation
• In many pathways, the signal is transmitted by a
cascade of protein phosphorylations
• Phosphatase enzymes remove the phosphates
• This phosphorylation and dephosphorylation
system acts as a molecular switch, turning
activities on and off
 Signal molecule

Receptor
Activated relay
molecule

Inactive
protein kinase
1 Active
protein
kinase
1

Ph
Inactive

o
sp
protein kinase ATP

ho
2 ADP Active P

ry
la
protein

ti o
kinase

n
PP

ca
Pi 2

sc
ad
Inactive

e
protein kinase ATP
ADP Active P
3
protein
PP kinase
Pi 3

Inactive
protein ATP
ADP P
Active Cellular
PP protein response
Pi
 Small Molecules and Ions as Second
Messengers
• Second messengers are small, nonprotein,
water-soluble molecules or ions
• The extracellular signal molecule that binds to
the membrane is a pathway’s “first messenger”
• Second messengers can readily spread
throughout cells by diffusion
• Second messengers participate in pathways
initiated by G-protein-linked receptors and
receptor tyrosine kinases
 Cyclic AMP
• Cyclic AMP (cAMP) is one of the most widely
used second messengers
• Adenylyl cyclase, an enzyme in the plasma
membrane, converts ATP to cAMP in response
to an extracellular signal

Adenylyl cyclase Phosphodiesterase

Pyrophosphate H2O
P Pi

ATP Cyclic AMP AMP

 First messenger
(signal molecule
such as epinephrine)
Adenylyl
G protein cyclase

G-protein-linked GTP
receptor

ATP
Second
cAMP messenger

Protein
kinase A

Cellular responses
 Cytoplasmic and Nuclear Responses
• Ultimately, a signal transduction pathway leads
to regulation of one or more cellular activities
• The response may occur in the cytoplasm or
may involve action in the nucleus
• Many pathways regulate the activity of enzymes
 Reception

Binding of epinephrine to G-protein-linked receptor (1 molecule)

Transduction

Inactive G protein
Note the amplification Active G protein (102 molecules)

Inactive adenylyl cyclase

Active adenylyl cyclase (102)

ATP
Cyclic AMP (104)

Inactive protein kinase A

Active protein kinase A (104)

Inactive phosphorylase kinase

Active phosphorylase kinase (105)

Inactive glycogen phosphorylase

Active glycogen phosphorylase (106)

Response
Glycogen
Glucose-1-phosphate
(108 molecules)
 Cytoplasmic and Nuclear Responses
• Many other signaling pathways regulate the
synthesis of enzymes or other proteins, usually
by turning genes on or off in the nucleus
• The final activated molecule may function as a
transcription factor
 Growth factor
Reception
Receptor

Phosphorylation
cascade
Transduction

CYTOPLASM

Inactive
transcription Active
factor transcription
factor Response
P

DNA

Gene

NUCLEUS mRNA