Transduction is the relay inside the cell
- The idea
- Predict
- See it
- Why
- Check
The idea
“Transduction turns the signal into action, so the cell's final action is transduction.”
Transduction sounds like transmission. All three stages happen in one cell, back to back, so the lines blur.
The short version
The mistake: Transduction turns the signal into action, so the cell's final action is transduction.
What's actually true: Reception is the signal binding its receptor. Transduction is the relay inside the cell. The response is what the relay causes.
- Reception is epinephrine binding its receptor and changing its shape. Epinephrine never enters the cell.
- Transduction is the relay inside the cell, through G proteins, cAMP and kinases.
- The response is what the relay causes, like a change in metabolism, a gene expressed, a channel opened, or something secreted.
- Sending the signal comes first. Epinephrine leaving the adrenal gland isn't transduction.
On the exam: Reception is the binding, transduction is the relay inside the cell, and the response is what the cell does.