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Biology Simulations
Communication & homeostasisA-level

Hormonal action

How does a hormone outside a cell cause a response inside it?

Follow adrenaline from a cell-surface receptor to cAMP and an amplified response inside the cell.

Open simulation

Explore at your own pace. Pause, look closer, play again.

Hormonal action simulation showing an adrenergic receptor, G-protein, adenylyl cyclase and the intracellular enzyme cascade.
Hormonal actionView from the simulation

Look closer.

  1. Distinguish adrenaline as the first messenger from cAMP as the second messenger.
  2. Follow the G-protein relay and the conversion of ATP to cAMP by adenylyl cyclase.
  3. Block or bypass parts of the pathway to investigate the resulting cellular response.