Problem
Chapter 5 Chemical Messengers & Cell Signaling
A. Describe the two main mechanisms of intercellular communication and know which is the most used in the body.
B. Define signal transduction and explain the basic components of a signal transduction pathway.
C. Describe the characteristics of both the 3 functional classifications of chemical messengers and the 5 chemical classifications of chemical messengers. Be able to classify messengers under both classification categories.
D. Understand the importance of water solubility on a messenger's ability to dissolve in plasma and ability to cross the PM. Describe the way lipophilic and lipophobic chemical messengers are synthesized and released from secretory cells, how they are transported in the blood, where their receptor is located in target cells, the basic signal transduction mechanisms used, and the relative duration of the response in the target cell.
E. Describe the basic biomolecular structure of the 5 chemical classes of chemical messengers. Know their water solubility and what they are derived from.
F. Understand the transport of hydrophobic hormones in plasma and what affects their availability to bind to target cells.
G. Define messenger half-life and how this differs for various messengers based on their transport/functional classification.
H. Explain the basics of the interactions between ligands (chemical messengers) and their receptors. Explain the three factors that influence the magnitude of a target cell's response to ligand binding.
I. Be able to explain the definition of an agonist vs. antagonist and interpret how a drug is acting in the body.
J. Be able to recognize examples of cellular responses that can be the outcome of a signal transduction mechanism.
K. Explain the full signal transduction mechanism for intracellular-mediated responses (the actions of lipophilic hormones).
L. Know the three types of signal transduction mechanisms for membrane-bound receptors.
M. Describe the mechanism for fast ligand-gated channels and the types of changes they can produce in the cell membrane.
N. Explain the many effects of increases in intracellular calcium ion concentrations.