Can you explain Ligands, Receptors , how they work throughout the body and inside a cell...

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Medical Sciences

Can you explain Ligands, Receptors , how they work throughoutthe body and inside a cell using a picture as well, thank you.

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A cell within a multicellular organism may need to signal toother cells that are at various distances from the original cellNot all cells are affected by the same signals Different types ofsignaling are used for different purposesIn chemical signaling a cell may target itself autocrinesignaling a cell connected by gap junctions a nearby cellparacrine signaling or a distant cell endocrine signalingParacrine signaling acts on nearby cells endocrine signaling usesthe circulatory system to transport ligands and autocrinesignaling acts on the signaling cell Signaling via gap junctionsinvolves signaling molecules moving directly between adjacentcellsLigandLligand is any molecule or atom which binds reversibly to aprotein A ligand can be an individual atom or ion It can also bea larger and more complex molecule made from many atoms A ligandcan be natural as an organic or inorganic molecule A ligand canalso be made synthetically in the laboratory This is because thekey properties of a ligand are found in its chemical structure Ifthat structure can be recreated in the laboratory the syntheticligand will be able to interact in the same ways a natural ligandactsHow a Ligand WorksThe ligand travels through the watery fluids of an organismwithin the blood tissues or within a cell itself The ligandtravels at random but once the concentration is high enough aligand will eventually reach a protein Proteins receiving ligandscan be receptors channels and can even be the start of a complexseries of intertwined proteins When the ligand binds to theprotein it undergoes a conformational change This meansthat while no chemical bonds have been formed or broken thephysical action of the ligand fitting into the protein changes theoverall shape of the entire structure This can trigger manyactions In most cases the movement of the protein itselfactivates another chemical pathway or triggers the release ofanother messenger ligand to carry the message to otherreceptorsThe reversibility of the bond between ligand and protein is acrucial aspect of all forms of life If ligands bound irreversiblythey could not serve as messengers and most biological processeswould fall apart If ligands were changed the way anenzyme changes a substrate the ligand wouldbecome something else after the interaction and could not be aseasily recycled as a messenger Biologically active proteins areactive because of their shape This shape interacts with thechemistry of the ligand to create a stable connection between thetwo molecules which will eventually reverse leaving bothmolecules the same In a substrate and enzyme reaction thesubstrate is permanently changedIt is this ability of the ligand to activate a protein for ashort amount of time and then be recycled which allows for thebiological control of many interactions The amount of time aligand spends attached to its receptor or specific protein is afunction of the affinity between the ligand and theprotein If there is a high affinity the ligand will tend to stickto the protein and modify its function See Answer

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