REVIEW: Molecular Mechanisms of Hormonal Activity. I. Receptors. Neuromediators. Systems with Second Messengers

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V. I. Kulinsky^1* and L. S. Kolesnichenko²

¹Department of Biochemistry and ²Department of Bioinorganic and Bioorganic Chemistry, Irkutsk State Medical University, ul. Krasnogo Vosstaniya 1, 664003 Irkutsk, Russia; fax: (3952) 24-0826; E-mail: kulinsky@pp.irkutsk.ru

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received February 16, 2004; Revision received April 15, 2004

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Hormone signal transfer along all of the cell compartments including nucleus is powered by signal transduction systems. Characteristics and importance of hormone receptors, principal components, functional mechanisms, and biological role of different systems with second messengers are described. Considerable examples of the importance of these systems for medicine are adduced. The drugs modifying these systems comprise more than 65% of contemporary medicines.

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KEY WORDS: mechanism of hormone action, signal transduction system, receptor, second messenger, protein kinase

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