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

See Examples For:

second messenger

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

From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022

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

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

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 David Wright