Publisher's Synopsis
This reference work contains a collection of articles devoted to the discussion of "intracellular messengers". Extracellular stimuli - "first messengers" - bind to receptors of the plasma membrane of cells to trigger changes in the concentration of intracellular messengers - "second messengers" - which leads, in turn, to changes in cellular activity.;However, the intracellular activities of so-called "third messengers" may also be involved, complicating the concept of a rigid sequence of events between receptor and response. The preference for the term "intracellular messengers" and, hence, the title of this volume, recognizes that a complex web of interactions between intercellular messengers determines the concentrations and ultimate effects of each.
