In this video, we're going to begin our introduction to cell signaling. Now, cell signaling is really just defined as the ability for all cells to produce, receive, and respond to external signals or conditions in the environment. And so, ultimately, cell signaling is going to allow for effective cellular communication, allowing for a cell to communicate with neighboring cells in its vicinity, but also communicate with distant cells that are further away as well. Now as we move forward in our course, we're going to talk a lot more about cellular communication and cell signaling. But what's important to note here is that cell signaling is going to require a minimum of 2 key components that we have numbered down below, number 1 and number 2. And so the very first key component of cell signaling is going to be the ligand itself. And so the ligand is defined as a small signaling molecule that is going to bind and form a complex with another biomolecule or a receptor. And this leads us to our second key component of cell signaling, and that is the receptor itself. And so the receptor is a biomolecule, typically a protein, that is going to change shape or change conformation upon ligand binding. And so when the ligand or the small signaling molecule binds to the receptor, it's going to cause a conformational change or change in shape of the receptor. And this conformational change is going to lead to a series of events within the cell, ultimately ending with a cellular response. And so let's take a look at our image down below to clear some of this up. And so notice that in this image, we have 2 cells. We have this cell over here on the left-hand side and we have this cell over here on the right-hand side. Now notice that this cell over here on the left-hand side is producing or generating this yellow circle here that we're calling the ligand. And again, the ligand is a small signaling molecule. And so because this cell here is producing the ligand, this cell over here on the left is going to be the signaling cell that is generating the signal or the ligand. And so this ligand that's produced by the signaling cell can diffuse over towards this other cell over here, which notice contains a receptor embedded in its cell membrane. And this receptor, again, is typically going to be a protein, and when the ligand actually comes and binds to the receptor, that is going to cause a confirmational change or a change in the shape of the receptor itself. And this conformational change in the receptor is going to lead to a series of events that's ultimately going to lead to the cellular response. And so, ultimately, this cell over here that has the receptor is going to be called the target cell because this is the cell that generates the cell target to the signal or the ligand created by the signaling cell. And so what's happening is this signaling cell over here is able to effectively communicate with this target cell over here. And so there are many different types of signaling pathways that lead to different types of cellular responses. And there are also many different types of ligands or many different types of signaling molecules. And over here on the left-hand side, we have this little table showing you some of the different types of ligands or signaling molecules that can lead to, a cell response. And so, the ligand or signaling molecule could be an amino acid, a protein, lipids or hormones, which we'll get to talk more about moving forward in our course, nucleotides, dissolved gases and neurotransmitters, which we'll also get to talk more about moving forward in our course. And this is just a small subset of the possibilities that of ligands or signaling molecules. And so this here concludes our brief introduction to cell signaling. And, again, we'll be able to talk more and more about cell signaling as we move forward in our course. So I'll see you all in our next video.
Table of contents
- 1. Introduction to Biology2h 40m
- 2. Chemistry3h 40m
- 3. Water1h 26m
- 4. Biomolecules2h 23m
- 5. Cell Components2h 26m
- 6. The Membrane2h 31m
- 7. Energy and Metabolism2h 0m
- 8. Respiration2h 40m
- 9. Photosynthesis2h 49m
- 10. Cell Signaling59m
- 11. Cell Division2h 47m
- 12. Meiosis2h 0m
- 13. Mendelian Genetics4h 41m
- Introduction to Mendel's Experiments7m
- Genotype vs. Phenotype17m
- Punnett Squares13m
- Mendel's Experiments26m
- Mendel's Laws18m
- Monohybrid Crosses16m
- Test Crosses14m
- Dihybrid Crosses20m
- Punnett Square Probability26m
- Incomplete Dominance vs. Codominance20m
- Epistasis7m
- Non-Mendelian Genetics12m
- Pedigrees6m
- Autosomal Inheritance21m
- Sex-Linked Inheritance43m
- X-Inactivation9m
- 14. DNA Synthesis2h 27m
- 15. Gene Expression3h 20m
- 16. Regulation of Expression3h 31m
- Introduction to Regulation of Gene Expression13m
- Prokaryotic Gene Regulation via Operons27m
- The Lac Operon21m
- Glucose's Impact on Lac Operon25m
- The Trp Operon20m
- Review of the Lac Operon & Trp Operon11m
- Introduction to Eukaryotic Gene Regulation9m
- Eukaryotic Chromatin Modifications16m
- Eukaryotic Transcriptional Control22m
- Eukaryotic Post-Transcriptional Regulation28m
- Eukaryotic Post-Translational Regulation13m
- 17. Viruses37m
- 18. Biotechnology2h 58m
- 19. Genomics17m
- 20. Development1h 5m
- 21. Evolution3h 1m
- 22. Evolution of Populations3h 52m
- 23. Speciation1h 37m
- 24. History of Life on Earth2h 6m
- 25. Phylogeny2h 31m
- 26. Prokaryotes4h 59m
- 27. Protists1h 12m
- 28. Plants1h 22m
- 29. Fungi36m
- 30. Overview of Animals34m
- 31. Invertebrates1h 2m
- 32. Vertebrates50m
- 33. Plant Anatomy1h 3m
- 34. Vascular Plant Transport2m
- 35. Soil37m
- 36. Plant Reproduction47m
- 37. Plant Sensation and Response1h 9m
- 38. Animal Form and Function1h 19m
- 39. Digestive System10m
- 40. Circulatory System1h 57m
- 41. Immune System1h 12m
- 42. Osmoregulation and Excretion50m
- 43. Endocrine System4m
- 44. Animal Reproduction2m
- 45. Nervous System55m
- 46. Sensory Systems46m
- 47. Muscle Systems23m
- 48. Ecology3h 11m
- Introduction to Ecology20m
- Biogeography14m
- Earth's Climate Patterns50m
- Introduction to Terrestrial Biomes10m
- Terrestrial Biomes: Near Equator13m
- Terrestrial Biomes: Temperate Regions10m
- Terrestrial Biomes: Northern Regions15m
- Introduction to Aquatic Biomes27m
- Freshwater Aquatic Biomes14m
- Marine Aquatic Biomes13m
- 49. Animal Behavior28m
- 50. Population Ecology3h 41m
- Introduction to Population Ecology28m
- Population Sampling Methods23m
- Life History12m
- Population Demography17m
- Factors Limiting Population Growth14m
- Introduction to Population Growth Models22m
- Linear Population Growth6m
- Exponential Population Growth29m
- Logistic Population Growth32m
- r/K Selection10m
- The Human Population22m
- 51. Community Ecology2h 46m
- Introduction to Community Ecology2m
- Introduction to Community Interactions9m
- Community Interactions: Competition (-/-)38m
- Community Interactions: Exploitation (+/-)23m
- Community Interactions: Mutualism (+/+) & Commensalism (+/0)9m
- Community Structure35m
- Community Dynamics26m
- Geographic Impact on Communities21m
- 52. Ecosystems2h 36m
- 53. Conservation Biology24m
10. Cell Signaling
Introduction to Cell Signaling
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