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.

See Examples For:

second messenger

Serotonin receptors are located on the cell membranes of neurons and activate second messenger cascades that regulate gene expression.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022

Not all water-soluble hormones initiate the cAMP second messenger system.

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 have sent a messenger and later I have even sent a second messenger, urging the bandits to send a competent agent to expedite our negotiations for the liberation of Mrs. Pawley and Mr. Corkran.

From Time Magazine Archive

That same evening a second messenger started northward after Maurice Gordon with a letter telling him to come back at once to Loango.

From With Edged Tools by Henry Seton Merriman

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word

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