Signaling and gradients: what's going down?

Hill, C. S., Van Aelst, L. (April 2012) Signaling and gradients: what's going down? Current Opinion in Cell Biology, 24 (2). pp. 155-157. ISSN 0955-0674

URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22429915
DOI: 10.1016/j.ceb.2012.03.001

Abstract

Cells communicate with each other and their environment by receiving extracellular signals in the form of cytokines, growth factors, and small molecules and responding to them by changing their behavior, frequently as a result of establishing new programs of gene expression. Many of these extracellular signaling molecules act in concentration gradients and cells display exquisite sensitivity to the levels of these molecules such that they elicit different responses, depending on the strength of the signal they experience. This issue of Current Opinion of Cell Biology focuses on gradients and signaling. The reviews describe how gradients of ligands, small molecules, mRNAs, and small noncoding RNAs are generated across fields of cells and how cells interpret these gradients and respond appropriately. The reviews highlight how graded signaling is relevant in organisms ranging from bacteria to mammals and plants and they discuss a wide range of biological processes including chemoattractant gradient sensing in Dictyostelium, tissue specification, and patterning during vertebrate and invertebrate embryonic development, stem cell function, and cancer metastasis.

Item Type: Paper
Subjects: organs, tissues, organelles, cell types and functions > cell types and functions > cell functions
organs, tissues, organelles, cell types and functions > cell types and functions > cell functions > cell signaling
organs, tissues, organelles, cell types and functions > cell types and functions
CSHL Authors:
Communities: CSHL labs > Van Aelst lab
Depositing User: Matt Covey
Date: April 2012
Date Deposited: 30 Jan 2013 20:44
Last Modified: 30 Jan 2013 20:44
Related URLs:
URI: https://repository.cshl.edu/id/eprint/26959

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