"When a food or drink molecule binds to a sweet or a bitter receptor, an intracellular "second messenger" system (usually using cyclic AMP) is engaged."
what's an intracellular 'scond messenger' system?
2007-12-10 11:32:09 · 5 answers · asked by C'est Comme Un Rêve 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Biology
Many chemical signals are transduced within a target cell without directly entering the cell. Rather, they bind to specific receptors on the exoplasmic leaflet of the target cell and as a result a cascade of chemical reactions occurs within the cell. Cyclic adenosine monophosphate is one of the small second messengers that mediates the signal within the target cell. Other common signal transduction pathways involve calcium ion - calmodulin, PIP2, and phosphorylation cascades. Often, the molecule eventually affected by the transduced signal is a transcription factor; its three-dimensional conformation is altered so that, upon entering the nucleus, it binds to a promoter region upstream (5') of the target gene and facilitates binding of RNA polymerase and the initiation of transcription. I hope that this has made a complex matter somewhat more accessible?!
2007-12-10 14:39:13 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
a 2nd messenger is a way to transfer a "signal" within a cell. A molecule will bind to a receptor in the membrane. Then a 2nd messenger will "carry" the signal to another part of the cell.
2007-12-10 22:04:06 · answer #2 · answered by Drew 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They are intermediate signals in cellular processes such as metabolism, secretion, contraction, phototransduction, and cell growth. " incroyable mais vrai!"
2007-12-10 19:39:46 · answer #3 · answered by Star T 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
dont speak nerdy language,, hey im a normal guy see?
2007-12-10 19:36:10 · answer #4 · answered by blackcatXIII_1112 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
WOW YOUR CRAZY!!!!!! Is that even english? I think im wacked!
2007-12-10 19:34:52 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋