Open AccessApproaches to studying cellular signaling: A primer for morphologists
Author(s) -
Hartford Svoboda Kathy Kay,
Reenstra Wende R.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
the anatomical record
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1097-0185
pISSN - 0003-276X
DOI - 10.1002/ar.10074
Subject(s) - signal transduction , extracellular matrix , extracellular , transduction (biophysics) , neuroscience , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , computational biology , biochemistry
Many research projects will lead to understanding tissue and/or cell responses to extracellular influences either from soluble factors or the surrounding extracellular matrix. These types of investigations will require the understanding of signal transduction. This particular cell biological field has literally exploded with information and new technical approaches in the past 10 years. This article is directed toward investigators interested in using these new approaches to study their systems. An overview of the general principles of signal transduction events including the types of receptors and intracellular signaling events is followed by an introduction to methods for visualizing signal transduction. This is followed by an introduction to biochemical analysis and an example of combining several approaches to understanding a tissue response to extracellular matrix stimulus. Anat Rec (New Anat) 269:123–139, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.