Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsFunctionTypesSignificance
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Function
Types
Significance
Cells, such as the ones in the human body, need a way to interact with and receive signals from substances such ashormones,drugs,antigens, or even sunlight. That’s where cellular receptors come in.
A receptor is a protein molecule in a cell or on the surface of a cell to which a substance can bind, causing a change in the activity of that particular cell.
This article explains how cell receptors work, their role in the human body, and their significance.
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Here’s one way to think about it: A receptor is like a lock, while the substance binding to it is the key. Thus, only substances that fit the “lock” can bind to a particular receptor.
Substances binding to receptors on cells can tell the cell to:
Cancer Cells vs. Normal Cells: How Are They Different?
Cells’ receptors are very specialized, and there are, in fact, hundreds of different types of receptors. Different types respond to different things, such as:
In some cases, if a cell doesn’t have the correct receptor for a particular substance, then that substance won’t affect the cell.
For example,leptinis the hormone that causes you to feel full and satiated following a big meal. Cells that don’t have receptors for leptin won’t respond to that hormone, but those that do will respond, inhibiting the release of other hormones that make you want to eat more.
Here are a few examples.
Celiac Disease
Inceliac disease, receptors on specific immune system cells serve as the locks, while fragments of thegluten proteinserve as the keys. When you consume gluten, this interaction triggers celiac’s characteristic intestinal damage known asvillous atrophy.
Autoimmune Disease
Certain cellular receptors appear to play a role in causing damage in otherautoimmune diseasestoo. That’s because, in an autoimmune disease (like celiac), yourimmune systemmistakenly turns on and damages some of your body’s own cells. The immune system targets them when receptors recognize specific proteins on the cells.
High Blood Pressure
But in some cases, you can use the behavior of cell receptors to support treatment. For instance, inhigh blood pressure,drugs can fit like keys into the cellular receptors that otherwise would attach to a hormone that raises blood pressure.
Summary
A cell receptor is a protein molecule to which substances like hormones, drugs, and antigens can bind. This allows them to change the activity of a cell.
There are hundreds of types of receptors, all of which respond to different things, such as chemicals, pressure, or light.
Receptors can be responsible for some of the damage that occurs in autoimmune diseases. But, on the other hand, they can also play a role in helping medication bind to a cell to treat some conditions.
7 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
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