Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 11, 2026

Mapping Molecular Diffusion in the Plasma Membrane by Multiple-Target Tracing (MTT)
12:19

Mapping Molecular Diffusion in the Plasma Membrane by Multiple-Target Tracing (MTT)

Published on: May 27, 2012

TRAIL: a molecule with multiple receptors and control mechanisms

T S Griffith1, D H Lynch

  • 1Department of Immunobiology, Immunex Corporation, 51 University Street,Seattle, WA 98101-2936, USA. tgriffith@immunex.com

Current Opinion in Immunology
|October 31, 1998
PubMed

Insights

Bioinformatic approaches enhance apoptosis research by identifying novel cell death components. Genomic analysis of TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) and its receptors reveals four distinct receptors, crucial for cancer therapy development.

Area of Science:

  • Cell biology
  • Bioinformatics
  • Molecular oncology

Background:

  • Apoptosis research is advancing through bioinformatics.
  • Understanding cell death pathways is critical for therapeutic development.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify new components of the cell death machinery.
  • To explore novel cell death inducers and receptors.
  • To investigate the TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) system.

Main Methods:

  • Genomic database analysis.
  • Bioinformatic approaches.

Main Results:

  • Identification of novel cell death components.
  • Characterization of the TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) system.
  • Discovery of four distinct receptors interacting with a single TRAIL ligand.

Conclusions:

  • Bioinformatics significantly aids apoptosis research.
  • The TRAIL system, with its four receptors, is a key area for cancer therapy research.
  • Further investigation into TRAIL and its receptors holds promise for novel cancer treatments.

More Related Videos

High-resolution Spatiotemporal Analysis of Receptor Dynamics by Single-molecule Fluorescence Microscopy15:13

High-resolution Spatiotemporal Analysis of Receptor Dynamics by Single-molecule Fluorescence Microscopy

Published on: July 25, 2014

Tracking Drug-induced Changes in Receptor Post-internalization Trafficking by Colocalizational Analysis07:48

Tracking Drug-induced Changes in Receptor Post-internalization Trafficking by Colocalizational Analysis

Published on: July 3, 2015

Related Concept Videos

Intracellular Signaling Cascades01:24

Intracellular Signaling Cascades

Once a ligand binds to a receptor, the signal is transmitted through the membrane and into the cytoplasm. The continuation of a signal in this manner is called signal transduction. Signal transduction only occurs with cell-surface receptors, which cannot interact with most components of the cell, such as DNA. Only internal receptors can interact directly with DNA in the nucleus to initiate protein synthesis. When a ligand binds to its receptor, conformational changes occur that affect the...
Enzyme-linked Receptors01:00

Enzyme-linked Receptors

Enzyme-linked receptors are proteins that act as both receptor and enzyme, activating multiple intracellular signals. This is a large group of receptors that include the receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) family. Many growth factors and hormones bind to and activate the RTKs.
Neurotrophin (NT) receptors are a family of RTKs, including trkA, trkB, and trkC (tropomyosin-related kinase) receptors. TrkA is specific for nerve growth factor (NGF), neurotrophin-6, and neurotrophin-7. TrkB binds...
Enzyme-linked Receptors01:00

Enzyme-linked Receptors

Enzyme-linked receptors are proteins that act as both receptor and enzyme, activating multiple intracellular signals. This is a large group of receptors that include the receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) family. Many growth factors and hormones bind to and activate the RTKs.
Neurotrophin (NT) receptors are a family of RTKs, including trkA, trkB, and trkC (tropomyosin-related kinase) receptors. TrkA is specific for nerve growth factor (NGF), neurotrophin-6, and neurotrophin-7. TrkB binds...
Interactions Between Signaling Pathways01:19

Interactions Between Signaling Pathways

Signaling cascades usually lack linearity. Multiple pathways interact and regulate one another, allowing cells to integrate and respond to diverse environmental stimuli.
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...
Transducer Mechanism: G Protein–Coupled Receptors01:30

Transducer Mechanism: G Protein–Coupled Receptors

G Protein–Coupled Receptors (GPCRs) are membrane-bound receptors that transiently associate with heterotrimeric G proteins and induce an appropriate response to various stimuli. GPCRs regulate critical physiological pathways and are excellent drug targets for treating diseases such as diabetes, cancer, obesity, depression, or Alzheimer's. Nearly 35% of approved drugs implement their therapeutic effects by selectively interacting with specific GPCRs.
GPCRs are also called heptahelical, 7TM, or...
Transducer Mechanism: Enzyme-Linked Receptors01:27

Transducer Mechanism: Enzyme-Linked Receptors

Enzyme-linked receptors are cell-surface receptors acting as an enzyme or associating with an enzyme intracellularly. They make excellent drug targets. Drugs can bind to the extracellular ligand-binding domain or directly affect their enzymatic domain and alter their activity.
Major types that are helpful drug targets include: