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Second Messenger Cascade

Meaning

A second messenger cascade represents a fundamental intracellular signaling pathway where extracellular signals, often hormones or neurotransmitters, are transduced from the cell surface to the cytoplasm and nucleus, initiating a series of biochemical reactions that amplify and distribute the original signal throughout the cell. These cascades involve a primary messenger binding to a cell surface receptor, subsequently activating intracellular molecules known as second messengers, which then propagate the signal to elicit specific cellular responses.