Novel aspects of signaling in Streptomyces development

The receptor occupancy theory connects a drug's response to the number of occupied receptors. With higher drug concentrations, more receptors are occupied, leading to increased responses. The formation of drug-receptor complexes involves association and dissociation rates, which reach equilibrium when the forward and backward reactions are equal. The equilibrium association constant (Ka) and its inverse, the equilibrium dissociation constant (Kd), indicate drug affinity. Higher Ka and lower...

Despite the protective membrane that separates a cell from the environment, cells need the ability to detect and respond to environmental changes. Additionally, cells often need to communicate with one another. Unicellular and multicellular organisms use a variety of cell signaling mechanisms to communicate to respond to the environment.

Paracrine signaling allows cells to communicate with their immediate neighbors via secretion of signaling molecules. Such a signal can only trigger a response in nearby target cells because the signal molecules degrade quickly or are inactivated if not taken up. Prominent examples of paracrine signaling include nitric oxide signaling in blood vessels, synaptic signaling of neurons, the blood clotting system, tissue repair/wound healing, and local allergic skin reactions. Nitric oxide as a...

Endocrine cells produce hormones to communicate with remote target cells found in other organs. The hormone reaches these distant areas using the circulatory system. This exposes the whole organism to the hormone but only those cells expressing hormone receptors or target cells are affected. Thus, endocrine signaling induces slow responses from its target cells but these effects also last longer.

Neurons communicate at synapses, or junctions, to excite or inhibit the activity of other neurons or target cells, such as muscles. Synapses may be chemical or electrical.

Bacterial signaling can occur within bacteria (intracellular) or between bacteria (intercellular). At times, a group of bacteria behaves like a community. To achieve this, they engage in quorum sensing, the perception of higher cell density that causes changes in gene expression. Quorum sensing involves both extracellular and intracellular signaling. The signaling cascade starts with a molecule called an autoinducer (AI). Individual bacteria produce AIs that move out of the bacterial cell...