Cognate receptors

The human growth hormone induces dimerization of its cognate receptor... 

Cytokines are small, short-lived proteins and important mediators of local intercellular communication. They play a key role in integrating responses to a variety of stimuli in immune and inflammatory processes. By binding their cognate receptors on target cells in their immediate vicinity, these molecules participate in many important biological activities including cell proliferation, activation, death and differentiation. In... 

A target cell is defined by its ability to selectively bind a given hormone to its cognate receptor. Several biochemical feamres of this interaction are important in order for hormone-receptor interactions to be physio-... 

Details regarding structural/functional differences among chemokines and their receptors are discussed elsewhere in this volume. Briefly, chemokines (and their cognate receptors) consist of four main classes (CC, CXC, CX3C and C) based on the number and spacing of at least four conserved cysteine residues (Murphy 2002). 

The study of peptidergic neurons requires a number of special tools. These tools include methods to detect the neuropeptides both in cells and after release, the enzymes specific to their biosynthesis and their cognate receptors. Since the actions of peptides require secretion, measurements of cell content (e.g. immunostaining) can be deceptive, with a decrease in content reflecting increased release. 

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