| Popis: |
During the past decade tremendous advances have been made in understanding the role of receptors as signal transducers, linking cells and their environment in a carefully orchestrated symphony of multicellular life. Through changes in gene expression, receptors facilitate a multitude of complex biological responses including differentiation, mitosis, apoptosis, and quiescence. While the mechanics of receptor activation and subsequent enhancement of transcription have yielded to modern methods of pharmacology and molecular biology, less progress has been made towards understanding causal relationships between changes in gene expression and cellular and tissue responses. Like other critical cellular targets, receptor proteins provide specific, high affinity sites for chemical interaction. In some cases, such chemical interactions have defined the action of receptors in the absence of any knowledge of their endogenous ligand or function. The dioxin receptor is one such example that illustrates both the biological complexity of, and experimental approaches to understanding receptor mediated toxicity. |
