Cell Signaling and Communication: (adopted from AP Pogil & Learning Catalyst)
Do Now: How would you handle communication in the following situations?
1. You would like to tell your friend across the room about a party that is
happening tonight, but you don’t want to disrupt your teacher or let anyone
else in class know about it. How could you get this message to them before
class is over?
2. A teacher wants to remind everyone in the class that they have a test on
Friday. What would be the most efficient way to contact every student?
3. You are a college counselor at a high school and you need to give an
application to all the seniors who are applying for early admission. How can
you notify each of these people?
4. You are on the yearbook committee and would like to organize a fundraising
car wash event. How could you get the word out to the community, so that
there is a good turnout?
Discuss the different modes of communication used in the above situations by
questioning the students further:
1. Which of the situations call for long distance communication?
2. Which examples are more specific in their target audience?
3. What are some other ways that organisms use for communication? (think of
different range as well as different mechanisms)
What about cellular communication? Examine the following model and
answer questions related to the model:
a. Label the following terms on the model above: cell, signaling molecule
(ligand), receptor, and membrane channel.
b. Which of the cellular communication methods in Model 1 appears to be
short range communication?
c. Which of the cellular communication methods in Model 1 appears to be long
range communication?
d. Use the four term below to label the diagrams in Model 1: autocrine,
paracrine, juxtacrine, endocrine.
e. For the following four methods of cell communication, determine whether
they are for short or long distance and whether they are general or specific:
paracrine signals
hormones
synaptic signals
airborne chemicals
When a cell release signal molecules to send a message, a whole host of events
take place after the cell receives the message. The basic signal transduction
pathway is ubiquitous and broken down to three stages: reception,
transduction, and response.
f. Label the diagram above with the three steps of signal transduction pathway.
g. Explain how the signal in model 1 is amplified.
h. What are some of the possible “responses” that could occur due to a signal
received by a cell?
i.
Give an example for each of the following main type of receptors and how
they work:
a. G-protein-linked receptors
b. Tryosine Kinases
c. Ion channel receptors
j.
What is significant about how some steroid work? How can the signal
molecule meet its target inside the cell?
Examine Model 2 and explain how phosphorylation works:
k. Where do the phosphorylated groups come from during this process?
l. What class of enzyme performs phosphorylation?
m. What advantage would there be to an organism if the signal transduction
pathway had several amplification steps?
n. Protein phosphatases are enzymes that remove phosphate group from
proteins. Complete the illustration in Model 2 by adding at least two protein
phosphatases (PP) to show how the cell is returned to inactive status.
o. What is the difference between relay protein and secondary messengers?
Give examples of some common secondary messengers in human systems.