Communication between and inside cells as well as their response to external stimuli relies on elaborated systems of signal transduction. They all require a directional transmission across membranes, often realized by primary messenger docking onto external receptor units and subsequent internalization of the signal in form of a released second messenger. This in turn starts a cascade of events which ultimately control all functions of the living cell. Although signal transduction is a fundamental biological process realized by supramolecular recognition and multiplication events with small molecules, chemists have just begun to invent artificial models which allow to study the underlying rules, and one day perhaps to rescue damaged transduction systems in nature. This review summarizes the exciting pioneering efforts of chemists to create simple models for the basic principles of signal transduction across a membrane. It starts with first attempts to establish molecular recognition events on liposomes with embedded receptor amphiphiles and moves on to simple transmembrane signaling across lipid bilayers. More elaborated systems step by step incorporate more elements of cell signaling, such as primary and secondary messenger or a useful cellular response such as cargo release.

中文翻译：

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人工信号转导。

细胞之间和细胞内的交流以及它们对外部刺激的反应依赖于精心设计的信号转导系统。它们都需要跨膜定向传输，通常通过初级信使对接外部受体单元和随后以释放的第二信使形式内化信号来实现。这反过来又开始了一系列事件，最终控制了活细胞的所有功能。尽管信号转导是通过小分子的超分子识别和倍增事件实现的基本生物过程，但化学家才刚刚开始发明人工模型，可以研究潜在的规则，并有朝一日可能拯救自然界中受损的转导系统。这篇综述总结了化学家为跨膜信号转导的基本原理创建简单模型的令人兴奋的开创性努力。它首先尝试在具有嵌入受体两亲物的脂质体上建立分子识别事件，然后转向跨脂质双层的简单跨膜信号传导。更精细的系统逐步包含更多细胞信号的元素，例如初级和次级信使或有用的细胞反应，如货物释放。