chemical signaling

Chemical signaling is how cells communicate in multicellular organisms. Cells release molecules that travel through the extracellular space to act on other cells. These signals can act locally (paracrine signaling) or be carried by the bloodstream to distant sites (endocrine signaling). Some signals act on the same cell that produced them (autocrine signaling).

Cells have specific receptors that bind to these chemical signals. This binding triggers events inside the cell, changing its behavior. For example, a signal might activate enzymes or open channels, leading to a cellular response. The type of receptor and the signal molecule determine the specific response, and the same signal can cause different effects in different cell types.1234