Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Overview of Cell Signaling01:23

Overview of Cell Signaling

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 with the environment.
Cells respond to many types of information, often through receptor proteins positioned on the membrane. For example, skin cells respond to and transmit touch...
Overview of Cell Signaling01:23

Overview of Cell Signaling

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 with the environment.
Cells respond to many types of information, often through receptor proteins positioned on the membrane. For example, skin cells respond to and transmit touch...
Contact-dependent Signaling01:19

Contact-dependent Signaling

Contact-dependent signaling, as the name suggests, requires that communicating cells be in direct contact with each other. This is achieved either through receptor-ligand interactions or by specialized cytoplasmic channels that allow the flow of small molecules between cells. In animal cells, channels called gap junctions facilitate contact-dependent signaling in certain tissues, whereas, plasmodesmata perform a similar function in plants.
Gap Junctions
In animal cells, gap junctions are formed...
Types of Signaling Molecules01:32

Types of Signaling Molecules

In multicellular organisms, many molecules transmit signals between cells to pass information. These signals vary in complexity and include small peptides, nucleotides, steroids, fatty acid derivatives, and dissolved gases such as nitric oxide. Some signaling molecules diffuse through the plasma membrane to act locally between neighboring cells or travel long distances. Others remain attached to the cell surface, transmitting information to other cells only when they make contact. In some...
Types of Signaling Molecules01:32

Types of Signaling Molecules

In multicellular organisms, many molecules transmit signals between cells to pass information. These signals vary in complexity and include small peptides, nucleotides, steroids, fatty acid derivatives, and dissolved gases such as nitric oxide. Some signaling molecules diffuse through the plasma membrane to act locally between neighboring cells or travel long distances. Others remain attached to the cell surface, transmitting information to other cells only when they make contact. In some...
What is Cell Signaling?02:03

What is Cell Signaling?

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.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Publisher Correction: Clinical development of cancer vaccines.

Nature medicine·2026
Same author

Clinical development of cancer vaccines.

Nature medicine·2026
Same author

NLRP11 promotes non-canonical inflammasome activation in human macrophages by enhancing caspase-4 recognition of cytosolic lipopolysaccharide.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

MAVS oligomerization drives a faster and more efficient antiviral signaling activation at peroxisomes compared to mitochondria.

The FEBS journal·2025
Same author

Towards a molecular and structural definition of cell death.

Nature structural & molecular biology·2025
Same author

An NLRP3-stimulatory adjuvant improves the immunogenicity of influenza virus vaccines in mice and non-human primates.

mBio·2025
Same journal

ZNRF3 and RNF43 are active monomeric E3 ubiquitin ligases that self-associate.

Science signaling·2026
Same journal

Allosteric ligands with distinct properties uncover tissue-specific physiological regulation mediated by free fatty acid receptor 2.

Science signaling·2026
Same journal

Diacylglycerol kinase ζ in B lymphocytes supports CD40-mediated immune synapse formation, mTORC1 signaling, and plasma cell fate.

Science signaling·2026
Same journal

The APC/C adaptor Cdh1 stabilizes STING to potentiate innate immune activation in renal cell carcinoma.

Science signaling·2026
Same journal

Fattening mother's milk with oxytocin.

Science signaling·2026
Same journal

Virion display reveals MD-1 as an endogenous agonist for the orphan receptor GPRC5B.

Science signaling·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 13, 2026

Mimicking the Function of Signaling Proteins: Toward Artificial Signal Transduction Therapy
12:24

Mimicking the Function of Signaling Proteins: Toward Artificial Signal Transduction Therapy

Published on: September 29, 2016

"Complementing" toll signaling.

Jonathan C Kagan1

  • 1Division of Gastroenterology and Harvard Medical School, Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, MA 02115, USA. jonathan.kagan@childrens.harvard.edu

Science Signaling
|May 6, 2010
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

This study reveals that two signal transduction pathways in macrophages interact when encountering bacteria, significantly altering the cellular response to infection. This challenges traditional single-pathway models of cellular signaling.

More Related Videos

Bimolecular Fluorescence Complementation
08:54

Bimolecular Fluorescence Complementation

Published on: April 15, 2011

Screening Bioactive Nanoparticles in Phagocytic Immune Cells for Inhibitors of Toll-like Receptor Signaling
09:51

Screening Bioactive Nanoparticles in Phagocytic Immune Cells for Inhibitors of Toll-like Receptor Signaling

Published on: July 26, 2017

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 13, 2026

Mimicking the Function of Signaling Proteins: Toward Artificial Signal Transduction Therapy
12:24

Mimicking the Function of Signaling Proteins: Toward Artificial Signal Transduction Therapy

Published on: September 29, 2016

Bimolecular Fluorescence Complementation
08:54

Bimolecular Fluorescence Complementation

Published on: April 15, 2011

Screening Bioactive Nanoparticles in Phagocytic Immune Cells for Inhibitors of Toll-like Receptor Signaling
09:51

Screening Bioactive Nanoparticles in Phagocytic Immune Cells for Inhibitors of Toll-like Receptor Signaling

Published on: July 26, 2017

Area of Science:

  • Cellular Biology
  • Immunology
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Traditional signal transduction studies often focus on single stimuli and single receptor activation.
  • Existing models may oversimplify cellular responses by suggesting isolated pathway activation.
  • Cells in vivo likely encounter multiple stimuli simultaneously, leading to complex signaling networks.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate signal transduction pathway interactions in macrophages during bacterial infection.
  • To model in vitro conditions that mimic simultaneous cellular stimuli.
  • To understand how combined signaling events alter cellular responses to infection.

Main Methods:

  • In vitro modeling of macrophage-bacterial interaction.
  • Analysis of signal transduction pathway activation and interaction.
  • Assessment of cellular response modifications.

Main Results:

  • Two distinct signal transduction pathways were identified to interact upon macrophage encounter with bacteria.
  • This interaction significantly modulated the overall cellular response to the bacterial stimulus.
  • The findings challenge the paradigm of isolated signaling pathways in cellular responses.

Conclusions:

  • Cellular responses to infection are likely a result of complex, interacting signal transduction pathways, not isolated events.
  • Understanding these interactions is crucial for a more accurate model of cellular signaling in complex biological environments.
  • This research provides a foundation for further studies on multi-pathway signaling in immunology.