Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Physiology A specialized cell or group of nerve endings that responds to sensory stimuli.
  • noun Biochemistry A molecular structure or site on the surface or interior of a cell that binds with substances such as hormones, antigens, drugs, or neurotransmitters.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A molecular complex of a cell through the union with which alien cell-products or cell-constituents can produce, their specific effects upon the coll. These same receptors, owing to the presence of which the cell is open to attack, when cast off from the cell constitute its most effective defenses. Also called side-chain. See immunity, 5.
  • noun In wireless telegraphy, a receiver.
  • noun The terminal expansion in skin or mucous membranes of a sensory nerve.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun biochemistry, medicine A protein on a cell wall that binds with specific molecules so that they can be absorbed into the cell in order to control certain functions.
  • noun biology Any specialized cell or structure that responds to sensory stimuli.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a cellular structure that is postulated to exist in order to mediate between a chemical agent that acts on nervous tissue and the physiological response
  • noun an organ having nerve endings (in the skin or viscera or eye or ear or nose or mouth) that respond to stimulation

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Old French receptour or Latin receptor.

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Examples

  • Indeed, the capsaicin receptor is a heat-activated ion channel in the pain pathway (Caterina et al. 1997).

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  • As importantly, these data provided indirect evidence that the insulin receptor is located on the surface of fat cells.

    Martin Rodbell - Autobiography 1995

  • In a paper published this week in the New England Medical Journal, Jerry Greenfield and colleagues from the University of Cambridge (UK) present evidence suggesting that this receptor is also critical for blood pressure regulation and may help explain in part why obesity is commonly (but not always) associated with high blood pressure.

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  • A classic example of a receptor tyrosine kinase receptor is the insulin receptor.

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  • This receptor is then used in high-speed robotic tests to rapidly evaluate thousands of chemical compounds.

    The Impact of Biotechnology on the Health-Care Industry 1997

  • The first module, which we call the receptor module, detects changes in environmental conditions to generate an intracellular signal.

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  • When the benzodiazepine receptor is stimulated, the sensitivity of the GABA receptor complex for GABA is increased and prolonged.

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  • Meanwhile, my co-workers showed the tropism of the virus for CD4T cells and identified the CD4 surface molecule as the main receptor to the virus.

    Luc Montagnier - Autobiography 2009

  • Studies of depression in rats show that the 5HT1A receptor is involved in supplying neurons with the fuel they need to fire, as well as preventing them from breaking down.

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  • Arena Pharmaceuticals of San Diego, CA developed APD-356 (Lorcaserin), which selectively stimulates the 5-HT2C serotonin receptor, located in the hypothalamus (an appetite control center of the brain) [7].

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