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Cell surface receptor

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Cell surface receptor

Cell surface receptors (membrane receptors, transmembrane receptors) are receptors that are embedded in the plasma membrane of cells. They act in cell signaling by receiving (binding to) extracellular molecules. They are specialized integral membrane proteins that allow communication between the cell and the extracellular space. The extracellular molecules may be hormones, neurotransmitters, cytokines, growth factors, cell adhesion molecules, or nutrients; they react with the receptor to induce changes in the metabolism and activity of a cell. In the process of signal transduction, ligand binding affects a cascading chemical change through the cell membrane.

Many membrane receptors are transmembrane proteins. There are various kinds, including glycoproteins and lipoproteins. Hundreds of different receptors are known and many more have yet to be studied. Transmembrane receptors are typically classified based on their tertiary (three-dimensional) structure. If the three-dimensional structure is unknown, they can be classified based on membrane topology. In the simplest receptors, polypeptide chains cross the lipid bilayer once, while others, such as the G-protein coupled receptors, cross as many as seven times. Each cell membrane can have several kinds of membrane receptors, with varying surface distributions. A single receptor may also be differently distributed at different membrane positions, depending on the sort of membrane and cellular function. Receptors are often clustered on the membrane surface, rather than evenly distributed.

Two models have been proposed to explain transmembrane receptors' mechanism of action.

Transmembrane receptors in plasma membrane can usually be divided into three parts.

The extracellular domain is just externally from the cell or organelle. If the polypeptide chain crosses the bilayer several times, the external domain comprises loops entwined through the membrane. By definition, a receptor's main function is to recognize and respond to a type of ligand. For example, a neurotransmitter, hormone, or atomic ions may each bind to the extracellular domain as a ligand coupled to receptor. Klotho is an enzyme which effects a receptor to recognize the ligand (FGF23).[citation needed]

Two most abundant classes of transmembrane receptors are GPCR and single-pass transmembrane proteins. In some receptors, such as the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, the transmembrane domain forms a protein pore through the membrane, or around the ion channel. Upon activation of an extracellular domain by binding of the appropriate ligand, the pore becomes accessible to ions, which then diffuse. In other receptors, the transmembrane domains undergo a conformational change upon binding, which affects intracellular conditions. In some receptors, such as members of the 7TM superfamily, the transmembrane domain includes a ligand binding pocket.[citation needed]

The intracellular (or cytoplasmic) domain of the receptor interacts with the interior of the cell or organelle, relaying the signal. There are two fundamental paths for this interaction:[citation needed]

Signal transduction processes through membrane receptors involve the external reactions, in which the ligand binds to a membrane receptor, and the internal reactions, in which intracellular response is triggered.

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