This important new reference work offers an outstanding collection of articles devoted to the discussion of "intracellular messengers". Extracellular stimuli ("first messengers") bind to receptors on the plasma membrane of cells to trigger changes in the concentration of intracellular messengers ("second messengers") which leads, in turn, to changes in cellular activity. However, the intracellular activities of so called "third messengers" may also be involved complicating the concept of a rigid sequence of events between receptor and response. The preference for the term "intracellular messengers", and, hence, the title of this volume, recognizes that a complex web of interactions between intercellular messengers determines the concentrations and ultimate effects of each.
