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second messenger

American

noun

Biochemistry.

any of various intracellular chemical substances, as cyclic AMP, that transmit and amplify the messages delivered by a first messenger to specific receptors on the cell surface.

second messenger Cultural

A molecule that relays messages in a cell from a receptor on a cell membrane to the final destination where an action within the cell is to take place. (See signal transduction pathway.)

Etymology

Origin of second messenger

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Hormone binding to receptor activates a G-protein, which in turn activates adenylyl cyclase, converting ATP to cAMP. cAMP is a second messenger that mediates a cell-specific response.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

The second messenger does not recognize the signal from the receptor.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

This intracellular mediator is called the second messenger.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

"I like to call it a second messenger," said Sutherland of AMP.

From Time Magazine Archive

A second messenger has just arrived from the army.

From The Branding Needle, or The Monastery of Charolles A Tale of the First Communal Charter by Sue, Eugène

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023