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.

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

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

The hormone is called a first messenger and the cellular component is called a second messenger.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

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

He felt that he was restored to consciousness in the right nick of time, for the especial purpose of holding a conference with the second messenger dispatched to him through Jacob Marley's intervention.

From A Christmas Carol by Williams, George Alfred

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