In biology, juxtacrine signalling is a type of intercellular communication that is transmitted via oligosaccharide, lipid, or protein components of a cell membrane, and may affect either the emitting cell or the immediately adjacent cells. The term "juxtacrine" was originally introduced by Anklesaria et al. (1990) to describe a possible way of signal transduction between TGF alpha and EGFR.
It occurs between adjacent cells that possess broad patches of closely opposed plasma membrane linked by transmembrane channels known as connexons. The gap between the cells can usually be between only 2 and 4 nm.
Unlike other types of cell signalling (such as paracrine and endocrine), juxtacrine signalling requires physical contact between the two cells involved.
Juxtacrine signalling has been observed for some growth factors, cytokine and chemokine cellular signals.
original article: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC53885/
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