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.

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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.)

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Etymology

Origin of second messenger

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

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

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

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

Calcium ion is a widely used second messenger.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

"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