Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 31, 2025

A Proximal Culture Method to Study Paracrine Signaling Between Cells
Published on: August 28, 2018
[Cell signalling and cancer]
1Université de Bordeaux, Inserm U916, Institut Bergonié, 33076 Bordeaux cedex, France. robert@bergonie.org
Abstract:
Cell signalling represents the network of cell communication pathways. Reception of a message by a cell results in the implementation of various direct and indirect actions, especially through the transcription of the genes required for carrying out the orders received. The signals exchanged by cells may concern proliferation and differentiation, adhesion and motility, survival and death. Thanks to various genetic or epigenetic mechanisms, the cancer cell is able to take advantage of the signalling pathways, to divert them from their original goals and to use them to its own benefit to proliferate, migrate and survive. This is why it can be said that cancer is a disease of cell signalling. We will present here a general classification of the main pathways of cell signalling and some of the recurrent mechanisms used for the transmission of information between cells and inside cells.
Insights
Cell signalling controls cell functions like growth and survival. Cancer hijacks these communication pathways, making it a disease of cell signalling.
Area of Science:
- Cellular biology
- Molecular biology
- Cancer biology
Context:
- Cell signalling is the fundamental process of intercellular communication.
- Signal transduction pathways regulate critical cellular activities including proliferation, differentiation, adhesion, motility, survival, and death.
- Cancer cells exploit and reprogram these pathways for uncontrolled growth and metastasis.
Purpose:
- To classify major cell signalling pathways.
- To outline common mechanisms of intracellular and intercellular information transmission.
- To explain how cancer cells manipulate cell signalling.
Summary:
- Cell signalling pathways form a complex network for cell communication, regulating gene transcription and cellular functions.
- Cancer cells hijack these pathways through genetic or epigenetic alterations, promoting their proliferation, migration, and survival.
- Understanding these hijacked pathways is crucial for cancer research and therapeutic development.
Impact:
- Provides a foundational understanding of cell signalling in cancer.
- Highlights cancer as a disease of dysregulated cell communication.
- Establishes a framework for exploring targeted cancer therapies based on signalling pathway modulation.
More Related Videos
08:11Characterization of Cell Membrane Extensions and Studying Their Roles in Cancer Cell Adhesion Dynamics
Published on: March 26, 2018
06:36A Modified In vitro Invasion Assay to Determine the Potential Role of Hormones, Cytokines and/or Growth Factors in Mediating Cancer Cell Invasion
Published on: April 24, 2015
Related Concept Videos
Autocrine Signaling
Autocrine Signaling in Macrophages
Under normal physiological conditions, autocrine signaling is essential for maintaining homeostasis. This process is well characterized in...
Interactions Between Signaling Pathways
Convergence and divergence, and cross-talk between signaling pathways
Two distinct signaling pathways can converge on a single functional unit, which may either be a single protein or a complex of proteins. The response is either functionally distinct or synergistic between the two pathways but different from the response...
What is Cell Signaling?
Overview of Cell Signaling
Cells respond to many types of information, often through receptor proteins positioned on the membrane. For example, skin cells respond to and transmit touch...
mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression
The mTOR pathway or the...
Signal Transduction: Overview
Typically, signal transduction involves three...