Roles of lipid turnover in transmembrane signal transduction

Cells of higher organisms respond to external stimuli with a cascade of intracellular biochemical events initiated by binding of a hormone, growth factor, or neurotransmitter to a specific cell surface receptor. Previously well-characterized signal transduction pathways involve cyclic nucleotides as intracellular second messengers. Over the past decade, increasing attention has been focused on other signaling pathways in which membrane lipids serve as second messengers or their precursors. This review describes current understanding of these pathways and points to recent discoveries likely to open new frontiers in the coming decade.