Future Challenges and Perspectives In Cell Signalling

This chapter looks at selected methods for measuring the levels of cell signalling components and discusses the notion of compartmentalization. It describes how signalling is a balance and states that threshold levels allow signalling to be propagated. It also explains how cell signalling systems can be manipulated to improve human health and agriculture outputs. The chapter traces the history of medicine, which has produced numerous drugs that have their targets in cell signalling mechanisms. It highlights that a significant amount of effort is now focused on the manipulation of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), which appears promising for drug development. Treatments that target cell signalling in plants will likely have a transformative impact on agriculture, as they may allow for crops to be improved where soils are contaminated or where climate change has an effect.