García SJA

Language: Spanish
References: 0
Page: 210-213
PDF size: 167.21 Kb.

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In the course of the last forty years hormone receptors, neurotransmitters, autacoids (local hormones) and growth factors have evolved, from being abstract concepts to being perfectly defined chemical entities. Essential elements of their structures, cellular location, functioning and regulation have become more defined all through the last twenty years. Nowadays we know that proteins are the receptors for these elements of intercellular communication. As is the case in all proteins, information for their synthesis is coded within our DNA and is subject to evolutionary process. Due to advances in biochemistry and structural biology, we are nowadays very close to knowing in detail various receptors –primary, secondary, tertiary and even quaternary [in cases when there are subunits] structures– Moreover, molecular genetics allows us to get acquainted with the receptors natural variants (polymorphisms) and to analyze their functional relevance (susceptibility and even resistance to several conditions). Molecular biology allows us to handle DNA and express in cellular models and even in complete (whole) organisms native and mutant receptors to advance in knowledge. Moreover we can modify the abundance or presence of receptors (transgenesis , expression blocking [«knockout»], or expression decrease [«knockdown»]).