Mechanisms of Signal Transduction in Cells Facts and Hypotheses

The life and functional activity of all eukariotic cells are ensured by the main vital activity programs: apoptosis, proliferation, differentiation. At the same time, apoptosis (genetically determined cell death), the basic program, is activated by the variety of internal and external factors, the realization of other programs is only possible when it is blocked. Modern achievements in biochemistry, molecular biology and molecular genetics have made it possible to define the basic stages of each of these programs, molecules responsible for the induction and propagation of a signal, but also factors transcriptional, ensuring the expression of certain genes and the link between matrix DNA and RNA polymerase. Internal cellular proteins, expressed by genes as a result of such a cascade of signals, are crucial for the performance of either cell program and determine the future fate of the cell. The cell itself plays a decisive role in the choice and execution of the vital functions program. This is related to the fact that the means of activation of signal molecules in a cell are of several types, depend on the presence and activity of certain intracellular signal molecules and transcription factors, and also, apparently, on the particular character of the signal received. In addition, there are certain cross links between the different ways of reporting, the way of choosing which is not clear until the end. For the perception of external signals, initiating these pathways, the cell uses its receiving device.

Author(s): Elena B. Vladimirsky,  Vitali D. Milman

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