effector

(noun)

any muscle, organ etc. that can respond to a stimulus from a nerve

Related Terms

Examples of effector in the following topics:

  • Immunological Memory

    • As B cells and T cells mature into effector cells, a subset of the naïve populations differentiates into B and T memory cells with the same antigen specificities .
    • A memory cell is an antigen-specific B or T lymphocyte that does not differentiate into an effector cell during the primary immune response, but that can immediately become an effector cell on re-exposure to the same pathogen.
    • As the infection is cleared and pathogenic stimuli subside, the effector cells are no longer needed; they undergo apoptosis.
    • If the pathogen is not encountered again during the individual's lifetime, B and T memory cells will circulate for a few years or even several decades, gradually dying off, having never functioned as effector cells.

  • Homeostatic Process

    • Adjustment of physiological systems within the body is called homeostatic regulation, which involves three parts or mechanisms: (1) the receptor, (2) the control center, and (3) the effector.
    • The effector responds to the commands of the control center by either opposing or enhancing the stimulus.
    • For example, during body temperature regulation, temperature receptors in the skin communicate information to the brain (the control center) which signals the effectors: blood vessels and sweat glands in the skin.

  • Regulatory Mechanisms for Cellular Respiration

    • These regulators, known as allosteric effectors, may increase or decrease enzyme activity, depending on the prevailing conditions, altering the steric structure of the enzyme, usually affecting the configuration of the active site.

  • Control of Homeostasis

    • The receptors sense changes in the environment, sending a signal to the control center (in most cases, the brain), which, in turn, generates a response that is signaled to an effector.
    • The effector is a muscle or a gland that will carry out the required response.

  • Components of Plasma Membranes

    • Membrane receptors provide extracellular attachment sites for effectors like hormones and growth factors, which then trigger intracellular responses.

  • Catabolite Activator Protein (CAP): An Activator Regulator

    • Two cAMP molecules bind dimeric CAP with negative cooperativity and function as allosteric effectors by increasing the protein's affinity for DNA.

  • Cell-Mediated Immunity

    • B plasma cells and TC cells are collectively called effector cells because they are involved in "effecting" (bringing about) the immune response of killing pathogens and infected host cells.

  • Regulating Immune Tolerance

    • The activated cells then return to MALT tissue effector sites.