Signal Transduction

G-proteins are important components of the plasma membranes of cells that allow external agents to communicate with their effector systems inside the cell. This book provides details on the experimental approaches to the study of the processes at work in trans-membrane signalling.

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Cellular trans-membrane signalling mechanisms are amongst the most highly studied processes in the biological sciences. G-proteins provide transduction components to allow communication between receptors for hormones and neurotransmitters and their effector systems which include enzymes involved in the generation of intracellular secondary messengers and a variety of ion channels. "Signal Transduction: A Practical Approach" details the experimental approaches which are used to define the contacts between receptors and G-proteins and between these G-proteins and their effector systems. While much emphasis in the cellular signalling field remains on the measurement of adenylyl cyclase and of phosphoinositidase C activities, it is now clear that activation of G-protein linked to receptors can also cause the regulation of phospholipases of the D and A2 classes. Thus, assays used to measure the activities of these enzyme systems are detailed in this book. The use of mutagenesis to define functional domains of G-proteins themselves has undergone considerable progress recently and examples of this approach are also provided.
This volume is designed to provide a useful guide to the newcomer to the subject, as well as allowing workers already in the field to expand the range of approaches in use in their laboratories.