CAMP-dependent pathway

In the field of molecular biology, the cAMP-dependent pathway, also known as the adenylyl cyclase pathway, is a G protein-coupled receptor-triggered signaling cascade used in cell communication.

cAMP was discovered by Earl Sutherland and Ted Randal. cAMP is considered a secondary messenger along with Ca²⁺. Sutherland eventually won a Nobel Prize in 1971.

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are a large family of integral membrane proteins that respond to a variety of extracellular stimuli. Each GPCR binds to and is activated by a specific ligand stimulus that ranges in size from small molecule catecholamines, lipids, or neurotransmitters to large protein hormones. When a GPCR is activated by its extracellular ligand, a conformational change is induced in the receptor that is transmitted to an attached intracellular heterotrimeric G protein complex. The G_s alpha subunit of the stimulated G protein complex exchanges GDP for GTP and is released from the complex.

In a cAMP-dependent pathway, the activated G_s alpha subunit binds to and activates an enzyme called adenylyl cyclase, which, in turn, catalyzes the conversion of ATP into cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP). Increases in concentration of the second messenger cAMP may lead to the activation of

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