Neurotransmitters cellular effects

Three mechanisms whereby binding of a neurotransmitter leads to a cellular effect. 

Agonist In molecular biology, a substance that mimics the cellular effects of a natural compound (such as a hormone or neurotransmitter) by binding to and activating the same cellular receptor. Compare antagonist. 

Most protein serine-threonine kinases undergo autophosphorylation. The autophosphorylation of most protein kinases is associated with an increase in kinase activity [4, 10]. In some instances, such as with the RII subunit of PKA, autophosphorylation represents a positive feedback mechanism for kinase activation, in this case by enhancing the rate of dissociation of the RII and C subunits. In the case of CaMKII, autophosphorylation causes the catalytic activity of the enzyme to become independent of Ca2+ and calmodulin. This means that the enzyme, activated originally in response to elevated cellular Ca2+, remains active after Ca2+ concentrations have returned to baseline. By this mechanism, neurotransmitters that activate CaMKII can produce relatively long-lived alterations in neuronal function. In other instances, such as with the receptor-associated protein tyrosine kinases (discussed in Ch. 24), autophosphorylation is an obligatory step in the sequence of molecular events through which those kinases are activated and produce physiological effects. 

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