Receptor (biochemistry)
hideIn biochemistry, a receptor is a protein molecule, embedded in either the plasma membrane or cytoplasm of a cell, to which a mobile signaling (or "signal") molecule may attach. A molecule which binds to a receptor is called a "ligand," and may be a peptide (such as a neurotransmitter), a hormone, a pharmaceutical drug, or a toxin, and when such binding occurs, the receptor undergoes a conformational change which ordinarily initiates a cellular response. However, some ligands merely block receptors without inducing any response (e.g. antagonists). Ligand-induced changes in receptors result in physiological changes which constitute the biological activity of the ligands.
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News tagged with receptors
Researchers solve structure of NMDA receptor unit that could be drug target for neurological diseases
Nov 12, 2009 |
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A team of scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory reports on Thursday their success in solving the molecular structure of a key portion of a cellular receptor implicated in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and other serious ...
Discovery in worms points to more targeted cancer treatment
Nov 10, 2009 |
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Researchers at Queen's University have found a link between two genes involved in cancer formation in humans, by examining the genes in worms. The groundbreaking discovery provides a foundation for how tumor-forming ...
This is your brain on fatty acids
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Oct 30, 2009 |
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Saturated fats have a deservedly bad reputation, but Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered that a sticky lipid occurring naturally at high levels in the brain may help us memorize grandma's recipe for cinnamon buns, as ...
Research could boost coastal economics with crustacean molting on demand (w/ Video)
Oct 27, 2009 |
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University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers are close to unraveling intricate cellular pathways that control molting in blue crabs. The discoveries could revolutionize the soft-shell crab industry, generating ...
EphA4 -- the molecular transformer
Chemistry / Analytical Chemistry
Oct 23, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- EphA4 is a protein which is attached to the surfaces of many types of human cells and plays a role in a wide range of biological processes. EphA4 functions by binding to ephrin ligands, cell ...
A master mechanism for regeneration?
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Oct 19, 2009 |
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ANN ARBOR, Mich.---Biologists long have marveled at the ability of some animals to re-grow lost body parts. Newts, for example, can lose a leg and grow a new one identical to the original. Zebrafish can re-grow fins.
Common herbicides and fibrates block nutrient-sensing receptor found in gut and pancreas
Oct 09, 2009 |
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According to new research from the Monell Center and the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, certain common herbicides and lipid-lowering fibrate drugs act in humans to block T1R3, a nutrient-sensing taste receptor also present ...
New approach for growing bone
Oct 07, 2009 |
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The natural cycle of building bone to maintain skeletal strength and then breaking it down for the body's calcium needs is delicately balanced, but diseases like osteoporosis break down too much bone without adequate bone ...
New drug aims to 'seek and destroy' many types of cancer
Oct 05, 2009 |
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A new drug designed to "seek and destroy" common cancers such as breast, prostate, endometrial, pancreatic, ovarian, skin and testicular cancers is being tested at TGen Clinical Research Services (TCRS) at ...
Blocking signal molecule can prevent growth of large intestine and colon cancer
Sep 23, 2009 |
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By seeing what substances and molecules affect the development of our diseases, we can develop drugs that prevent or cure diseases. In her dissertation at Kalmar University in Sweden, Ann Novotny has found that the signal ...
Janus particles: particles with two faces
Sep 18, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology at the University of Twente, The Netherlands, have devised a method for fabricating Janus particles, so called because, like the Roman ...
Key Brain Receptors Linked To Learning and Memory Decrease with Age
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Sep 11, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists studying cognitive decline that accompanies aging have been interested in nicotinic receptors, part of a key neural pathway that not only enhances learning and memory skills but ...
Designing probiotics that ambush gut pathogens
Sep 08, 2009 |
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Researchers in Australia are developing diversionary tactics to fool disease-causing bacteria in the gut. Many bacteria, including those responsible for major gut infections, such as cholera, produce toxins that damage human ...
Natural born killers -- how the body's frontline immune cells decide which cells to destroy
Jul 28, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The mechanism used by 'Natural Killer' immune cells in the human body to distinguish between diseased cells, which they are meant to destroy, and normal cells, which they are meant to leave ...
Airway cells use 'tasting' mechanism to detect and clear harmful substances
Jul 24, 2009 |
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The same mechanism that helps you detect bad-tasting and potentially poisonous foods may also play a role in protecting your airway from harmful substances, according to a study by scientists at the University ...
