signaling cascade

(noun)

the chain of events that conveys the signal through the cell

Related Terms

Examples of signaling cascade in the following topics:

  • Termination of the Signal Cascade

    • Signal cascades convey signals to the cell through the phosphorylation of molecules by kinases.
    • The chain of events that conveys the signal through the cell is called a signaling pathway or cascade.
    • A major component of cell signaling cascades is the phosphorylation of molecules by enzymes known as kinases.
    • Inside the cell, many different enzymes reverse the cellular modifications that result from signaling cascades.
    • Describe the process by which the signal cascade in cell communication is terminated

  • Signaling in Yeast

    • Yeasts utilize cell-surface receptors, mating factors, and signaling cascades in order to communicate.
    • The components and processes found in yeast signals are similar to those of cell-surface receptor signals in multicellular organisms.
    • When mating factor binds to cell-surface receptors in other yeast cells that are nearby, they stop their normal growth cycles and initiate a cell signaling cascade that includes protein kinases and GTP-binding proteins that are similar to G-proteins.
    • Because yeasts contain many of the same classes of signaling proteins as humans, these organisms are ideal for studying signaling cascades.
    • Therefore, the signaling cascades are also simpler and easier to study, although they contain similar counterparts to human signaling

  • Binding Initiates a Signaling Pathway

    • Ligand binding to cell-surface receptors activates the receptor's intracellular components setting off a signaling pathway or cascade.
    • After the ligand binds to the cell-surface receptor, the activation of the receptor's intracellular components sets off a chain of events that is called a signaling pathway or a signaling cascade .
    • The effects of extracellular signals can also be amplified by enzymatic cascades.
    • However, activation of a receptor-linked enzyme can activate many copies of a component of the signaling cascade, which amplifies the signal.
    • A complex cascade of downstream events causes the cell to grow and divide.

  • Synaptic Plasticity

    • Next, Ca2+ ions entering the cell initiate a signaling cascade that causes a different type of glutamate receptor, AMPA (α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid) receptors, to be inserted into the postsynaptic membrane.
    • In this situation, calcium that enters through NMDA receptors initiates a different signaling cascade, which results in the removal of AMPA receptors from the postsynaptic membrane .
    • This stimulation causes a calcium- and CaMKII-dependent cellular cascade, which results in the insertion of more AMPA receptors into the postsynaptic membrane.
    • The calcium that does flow through NMDA receptors initiates a different calcineurin and protein phosphatase 1-dependent cascade, which results in the endocytosis of AMPA receptors.

  • Cell Signaling and Cell Death

    • External signaling can also initiate apoptosis.
    • The binding of cellular receptors to the extracellular matrix initiates a signaling cascade within the cell.
    • However, if the cell moves away from the extracellular matrix, the signaling ceases, and the cell undergoes apoptosis.
    • Another example of external signaling that leads to apoptosis occurs in T-cell development.
    • A cell signaling mechanism triggers apoptosis, which destroys the cells between the developing digits.

  • Mechanisms of Hormone Action

    • Cellular recipients of a particular hormonal signal may be one of several cell types that reside within a number of different tissues; This is so in the case of insulin, which triggers a diverse range of systemic physiological effects.
    • Different tissue types may also respond differently to the same hormonal signal.
    • As a result, hormonal signaling is elaborate and hard to dissect.
    • Relay and amplification of the received hormonal signal via a signal transduction process.
    • Water-soluble hormones such as Epinephrine, bind to a cell-surface localized receptor, initiating a signaling cascade using intracellular second messengers.

  • Gene Expression for Spatial Positioning

    • During development it is critical that specific gene expression patterns are established to signal and differentiate the cells appropriately.
    • The process of differentiation is regulated by cellular signaling cascades.
    • During the formation of the neural system, special signaling molecules called growth factors signal some cells at the edge of the ectoderm to become epidermis cells.
    • If the signaling by growth factors were disrupted, then the entire ectoderm would differentiate into neural tissue.

  • Programmed Cell Death

    • Apoptosis can also be initiated via external signaling.
    • The binding of cellular receptors to the extracellular matrix initiates a signaling cascade within the cell.
    • However, if the cell moves away from the extracellular matrix, the signaling ceases, and the cell undergoes apoptosis.
    • Another example of external signaling that leads to apoptosis occurs in T-cell development.
    • A cell signaling mechanism triggers apoptosis, which destroys the cells between the developing digits.

  • Methods of Intracellular Signaling

    • The induction of a signaling pathway depends on the modification of a cellular component by an enzyme.
    • Phosphorylation of tyrosine residues can either affect the activity of an enzyme or create a binding site that interacts with downstream components in the signaling cascade.
    • They are small molecules that propagate a signal after it has been initiated by the binding of the signaling molecule to the receptor.
    • Phosphatidylinositol (PI) is the main phospholipid that plays a role in cellular signaling.
    • Explain how the binding of a ligand initiates signal transduction throughout a cell

  • Types of Cytokines Participating in Immune Response

    • Cytokines are small cell-signaling protein molecules that are secreted by numerous cells.
    • Cytokines are small cell-signaling protein molecules that are secreted by numerous cells and are a category of signaling molecules used extensively in intercellular communication.
    • Cytokines provide the signaling pathways that orchestrate the complex immune responses of the human body.
    • Cytokines are similar to hormones, which are also chemical messengers, however hormones have considerably more variation in molecular structure, and are involved more in tissue signaling than cellular signaling.
    • Subsequent cascades of intracellular signalling then alter cell functions.