Cell Biology BME140 Lecture 9 Signal Transduction Pathways Assist. Prof. Dr. Açelya Yılmazer Aktuna

Signal Transduction Pathways Signaling networks are the nervous system of a cell Signaling networks transmit information from extracellular environment to interior of cell (i.e., sensory nerves) Cells collect multiple sources of information and process the information to make decisions (i.e., central nervous system)

Signal Transduction Pathways Signaling networks are the nervous system of a cell Signaling networks transmit decisions to effector proteins (i.e., motor nerves) Signaling networks permit cells to maintain homeostasis (i.e., reflex arcs)

Signal Transduction Pathways Signaling networks relay information from the extracellular environment to the interior of a cell The basic unit of a signaling network is a signal transduction pathway, which carries one specific signal in a single direction from the source (a receptor) to the effector Most signal transduction pathways are comprised of several different molecules that activate each other in a carefully controlled sequence of binding interactions