What is Signal Transduction?
Simple examples of cellular transduction occur when signals activate receptor molecules on the cells surface. Some receptors are channels, which allow charged atoms called ions to move into or out of the cell. Ions zooming along these cellular corridors then change the electrical potential of the cell, thereby propagating a signal. Other, more complicated forms of signal transduction involve receptors, enzymes, protein interactions, or even the interaction of proteins with DNA or RNA. Some signal transduction researchers are trying to understand the molecular targets of currently used drugs and chemicals; whereas others seek to understand the aberrant signaling that can cause disease in order to develop new targeted therapeutics. Some researchers in the field are investigating, for example, how signaling by members of the Toll-like receptor family, which are involved in the first response to pathogens, may contribute to cancer and may prove to be an attractive target for treatment of t
