signal transduction pathway

1. A set of chemical reactions in a cell that occurs when a molecule, such as a hormone, attaches to a receptor on the cell membrane. The pathway is actually a cascade of biochemical reactions inside the cell that eventually reach the target molecule or reaction. Thus, the pathway is a method by which molecules inside the cell can be altered by molecules on the outside.

Example Sentences

Slow synaptic transmission activates receptors on the receiving nerve cells that then cause changes in chemicals known as second messengers, a whole internal signal transduction pathway within the cell that might be thought of as the brain’s software.

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In rapid succession, scientists from Stanford, Harvard, and other universities reportedly reached out to a small Bay-area biotechnology company called Rigel to request permission to study one of their lead compounds, fostamitinib, an inhibitor of the Syk kinase which is also in the B cell signal transduction pathway.

Read more on Forbes