Hedgehog, Patched and Dispatched near the basement

摘要

Cell signaling is arguably the most important characteristic of mul-ticellular organisms. Without cell signaling, the different cells in the body of a plant or animal could not communicate with each other, and they could not coordinate their actions. Such coordination is essential: first, to build a complex body composed of thousands or millions of cells and second, for the correct performance of such a body in everyday life, whether acquiring nutrients, excreting toxins, or dealing with hostile or friendly interactions from other organisms. This coordination is corroborated by the many problems and diseases (such as developmental abnormalities and cancers) that arise from malfunction of the cellular machinery that deals with cell signaling and communication (1-3). Thus, the study of such cell signaling machinery is receiving a great deal of attention by-biological and medical research.