Probing chemical change at the plasma membrane

在环境和细胞机制之间传递信息的主要管道是细胞膜的组成部分。这个过程的参与者允许细胞适应和对周围环境做出反应，也允许细胞彼此交流。细胞表面受体是完整的膜蛋白，除了小分子的运输外，还可以通过化学、电压和构象变化等机制进行信息交流。受体因其在生物学中的重要作用而受到普遍认可；然而，由于它们嵌入细胞膜中，这些结构已被证明难以在分子细节上进行研究。

The primary conduit of information between the environment and the machinery of a cell are the components of the cell membrane. Participants in this process allow the cell to adapt and react to its surroundings and also allow cells to communicate with each other. Cell surface receptors are integral membrane proteins that can communicate information through mechanisms that include chemical, voltage, and conformational changes in addition to the transport of small molecules. Receptors are universally appreciated for this essential role in biology; however, due to their embedding in the cell membrane these structures have proven to be difficult to study in molecular detail.