Inositol triphosphate
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
Inositol triphosphate or inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate (also commonly known as inositol trisphosphate or triphosphoinositol; abbreviated InsP3 or IP3), together with diacylglycerol, is a second messenger molecule used in signal transduction in biological cells. It is made by hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol, a phospholipid that is located in the plasma membrane, by phospholipase C.
Its main functions are to mobilize Ca2+ from storage organelles and to regulate cell proliferation and other cellular reactions. For example, in the fruit fly Drosophila, InsP3 is used for intracellular transduction of light recognition in eye cells.
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