Nuclear envelope signaling-role of phospholipid metabolism

Since the early 1980’s, there has been an explosion of research in an area often described as “signal transduction”. Loosely defined, signal transduction refers to the communication of a signal initiated by an extracellular agonist to the cell interior. Clearly, such a process is central to the growth, development and homeostasis of multicellular organisms. Indeed, many extracellular agonists induce the stimulation of cell growth, differentiation, or the expression of specific genes required for selected responses. As a result, one of the primary intracellular targets of this communication is the cell nucleus. Signal transduction pathways must, therefore, include mechanisms for the initiation of signals at the plasma membrane, a mechanism by which these signals traverse the cytoplasm, and influence, finally, a nuclear response.