Biological Sciences
Cell Recognition
Cell recognition is the process by which cells identify and communicate with one another. It involves the recognition of specific molecules on the surface of cells, which can trigger various cellular responses such as adhesion, signaling, and immune responses. This recognition is crucial for the proper functioning of multicellular organisms and plays a key role in processes such as development, immunity, and tissue repair.
Written by Perlego with AI-assistance
Related key terms
1 Key excerpts on "Cell Recognition"
eBook - ePubEssentials of Chemical Biology
Structure and Dynamics of Biological Macromolecules
- Andrew D. Miller, Julian Tanner(Authors)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Wiley(Publisher)
7
Molecular Recognition and Binding
7.1 Molecular recognition and binding in chemical biology
Wherever one cares to look in biology, function and activity is founded upon molecular recognition and binding events. These events usually involve interactions between a peptide, protein, nucleic acid, carbohydrate or lipid molecule (ligand) and complementary binding sites found in corresponding cognate acceptor molecules (receptors), typically proteins, located in lipid membranes or at other key interfaces. Such receptor–ligand interactions are then followed by chemical catalysis if the receptor is a bio-catalyst (see Chapter 8), or else provoke trans-conformational changes in the receptor that then elicit a range of alternate biological responses. Amazingly, the same non-covalent forces that create and maintain the structure of biological macromolecules and assemblies (electrostatic forces, van der Waals forces, hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions) are the very same that are involved in molecular recognition and binding events (see Chapter 1). However, the way in which these different forces cooperate together to produce the diversity of molecular recognition and binding events found in biology is breathtaking. Hence the chemical biology reader needs to develop a sound understanding of the principles of molecular recognition and binding events in order to begin properly the journey towards an understanding of the way biology works at the molecular level! Therefore, the objective in this chapter is to map out essential concepts in molecular recognition and binding events, with reference to a few useful biological examples, so that the reader may then have the necessary background to go forward and study other examples of molecular recognition and binding in biology.7.1.1 Roles of molecular recognition and binding
Molecular recognition and binding events found in biology are ubiquitous, diverse and pivotal, but there are common themes and principles. In order to impart a flavour of this, we will take a brief look at a number of interlocking but diverse examples of biological molecular recognition and binding events. These examples come from fields as diverse as neurotransmission, bio-catalysis (see Chapter 8), immunity (antibody recognition), autoimmunity, inflammation and chromatin condensation all the way through to the control of gene expression. Truly ubiquitous, diverse and pivotal!
Learn about this page
Index pages curate the most relevant extracts from our library of academic textbooks. They’ve been created using an in-house natural language model (NLM), each adding context and meaning to key research topics.
