Access

Perspective

Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology 3, 710–718 (1 September 2002) | doi:10.1038/nrm911

Cyclic nucleotide research |[mdash]| still expanding after half a century

Joseph A. Beavo & Laurence L. Brunton

Since the discovery in 1957 that cyclic AMP acts as a second messenger for the hormone adrenaline, interest in this molecule and its companion, cyclic GMP, has grown. Over a period of nearly 50 years, research into second messengers has provided a framework for understanding transmembrane signal transduction, receptor–effector coupling, protein-kinase cascades and downregulation of drug responsiveness. The breadth and impact of this work is reflected by five different Nobel prizes.