Fibroblast growth factor receptorThe fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFR) are, as their name implies, receptors that bind to members of the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) family of proteins. Some of these receptors are involved in pathological conditions. For example, a point mutation in FGFR3 can lead to achondroplasia. The fibroblast growth factor receptors consist of an extracellular ligand domain composed of three immunoglobulin-like domains, a single transmembrane helix domain, and an intracellular domain with tyrosine kinase activity.
Cell signalingIn biology, cell signaling (cell signalling in British English) or cell communication is the ability of a cell to receive, process, and transmit signals with its environment and with itself. Cell signaling is a fundamental property of all cellular life in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Signals that originate from outside a cell (or extracellular signals) can be physical agents like mechanical pressure, voltage, temperature, light, or chemical signals (e.g., small molecules, peptides, or gas).
Retinoic acidRetinoic acid (used simplified here for all-trans-retinoic acid) is a metabolite of vitamin A1 (all-trans-retinol) that mediates the functions of vitamin A1 required for growth and development. All-trans-retinoic acid is required in chordate animals, which includes all higher animals from fish to humans. During early embryonic development, all-trans-retinoic acid generated in a specific region of the embryo helps determine position along the embryonic anterior/posterior axis by serving as an intercellular signaling molecule that guides development of the posterior portion of the embryo.
Sjögren syndromeSjögren syndrome or Sjögren's syndrome (SjS, SS) is a long-term autoimmune disease that affects the body's moisture-producing glands (lacrimal and salivary), and often seriously affects other organ systems, such as the lungs, kidneys, and nervous system. The disease was described in 1933 by Henrik Sjögren, after whom it is named, but a number of earlier descriptions of people with the symptoms exist. Between 0.2 and 1.2% of the population is affected, with half having the primary form and half the secondary form.
