second messenger

American  

noun

Biochemistry.

1. 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  

1. 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

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 can then go on to cause changes in the neuron, such as opening or closing ion channels, metabolic changes, and changes in gene transcription.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

It is a second messenger in many signaling pathways, and is essential for muscle contraction, nerve impulse transmission, and blood clotting.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

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

From Time Magazine Archive

And then quickly comes up the second messenger.

From Is The Young Man Absalom Safe? A Sermon Preached in The Church of St. Mary Magdalene, Stoke Bishop, on Sunday, July 19th, 1885 by Wright, David