Cell signaling pathways generally follow a series of steps: 1. Signal Reception: A ligand binds to its specific receptor on the target cell. 2. Signal Transduction: This binding activates the receptor, often causing it to change shape and interact with other intracellular molecules. 3. Signal Amplification: The signal is often amplified by second messengers, allowing a small number of ligand-receptor interactions to produce a large cellular response. 4. Signal Integration: Multiple pathways can converge, integrating different signals to produce a coordinated response. 5. Cellular Response: The final outcome could be a wide range of cellular activities, such as proliferation, differentiation, or apoptosis.
