Signaling Pathway Assays

Signal transduction is one of the most widely studied areas in biology. Extracellular information perceived at the surface of a cell must be translated into an intracellular response that involves a complex network of interwoven signaling cascades. These signaling events regulate cellular responses like proliferation, differentiation, secretion and apoptosis. Signal transduction cascades are generally triggered by the binding of ligands, such as growth factors, cytokines, neurotransmitters, or hormones, to a receptor. These receptors transmit the stimulus to the interior of the cell, where the signal is amplified and directed through a signaling pathway.

A number of key reversible post-translational modifications (PTMs) occur during signal transduction- the most common being phosphorylation. Other PTMs include glycosylation, ubiquitination, acetylation and methylation to name just a few. These modifications provide cells with an enormous capacity for biological diversity that allow them to regulate every aspect of cellular life (Theillet, F.X. et al. (2012) Cell signaling, post-translational protein modifications and NMR spectroscopy. J. Biomol, NMR 54(3), 217–236).