Dependence receptor

In cellular biology, dependence receptors are proteins that mediate programmed cell death by monitoring the absence of certain trophic factors (or, equivalently, the presence of anti-trophic factors) that otherwise serve as ligands (interactors) for the dependence receptors.A trophic ligand is a molecule whose protein binding stimulates cell growth, differentiation, and/or survival.Cells depend for their survival on stimulation that is mediated by various receptors and sensors, and integrated via signaling within the cell and between cells. The withdrawal of such trophic support leads to a form of cellular suicide. In cellular biology, dependence receptors are proteins that mediate programmed cell death by monitoring the absence of certain trophic factors (or, equivalently, the presence of anti-trophic factors) that otherwise serve as ligands (interactors) for the dependence receptors.A trophic ligand is a molecule whose protein binding stimulates cell growth, differentiation, and/or survival.Cells depend for their survival on stimulation that is mediated by various receptors and sensors, and integrated via signaling within the cell and between cells. The withdrawal of such trophic support leads to a form of cellular suicide. Various dependence receptors are involved in a range of biological events: developmental cell death (naturally occurring cell death), trophic factor withdrawal-induced cell death, the spontaneous regression characteristic of type IV-S neuroblastoma, neurodegenerative cell death, inhibition of new tumor cells (tumorigenesis) and metastasis, and therapeutic antibody-mediated tumor cell death, as well as programmed cell death in other instances. Since these receptors may support either cell death or cell survival, they initiate a new type of tumor suppressor, a conditional tumor suppressor.In addition, events such as cellular atrophy and process retraction may also be mediated by dependence receptors, although this has not been as well documented as the induction of programmed cell death.