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Signal Transduction

Signal transduction is the primary means by which a cell receives and responds to information about its external and internal environment. It is the cellular process that allows for the transferal of signals whereby a chain of signal-types are converted from one to another. The signal begins with a stimulus, and often initiates a process of biochemical reactions that take place within the cell and are completed in a short amount of time (some may be accomplished in a millisecond, while others in a few seconds). The process is performed by enzymes and uses second messengers as links.

It often happens that the initial (and often small) stimulus that sets off a reaction can be joined by a number of other enzymes and varying molecules, setting of what is referred to as a signaling cascade, a chain of events from which results a large response that would not otherwise be merited by a slight stimulus.

Signal transduction is what arbitrates a cell’s response to a stimulus. This stimulus can come in a host of forms, since there are a number of ways in which the external surroundings of a cell can interact with its membrane. Some examples of a possible response to such stimulus would be the production of metabolic energy or gene activation.

Web Resources On Signal Transduction

Mechanisms of Signal Transduction
Wikipedia: Signal Transduction

Book Resources On Signal Transduction

Signal Transduction by Bastien D. Gomperts
Signal Transduction and Human Disease by Toren Finkel, J. Silvio Gutkind (Editors)

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