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Receptor Isoforms

Meaning

Receptor isoforms are structurally distinct, functional variants of a single receptor protein that are meticulously produced from the same gene through the biological processes of alternative splicing or various post-translational modifications, resulting in molecules with potentially different tissue distributions, ligand affinities, or unique signaling properties. These crucial variations allow a single hormone to exert diverse and highly specific biological effects across different cell types or even within the same single cell. Understanding these distinct isoforms, such as the various estrogen receptor subtypes (ER$alpha$ and ER$beta$), is fundamentally crucial for developing highly selective therapeutic agents that can precisely target specific physiological pathways while successfully minimizing unwanted, systemic side effects.