3. Cell Physiology Flashcards
What are stem cells?
Cells with the potential to develop into many different types of cells in the body
What is cell potency?
A cell’s ability to differentiate into other cell types
What are the stages of the potency continuum?
- Totipotency
- Pluripotency
- Multipotency
- Oligopotency
- Unipotency
What are Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPS)?
Cells derived from skin or blood cells reprogrammed back into an embryonic-like pluripotent state
What are the four major uses for iPS cells?
- Drug development
- Cell therapy/regenerative medicine
- Better understanding of development biology
- Disease modeling
What is required for Pharma to better implement iPSC-derived models?
Comparative studies, scale-up, and pilot screens
What is cell development?
The process of a cell growing and/or becoming more mature or specialized
What is cell growth?
An increase in the total mass of a cell, including cytoplasmic, nuclear, and organelle volume
What occurs during cell growth?
When the overall rate of cellular biosynthesis is greater than the overall rate of cellular degradation
What is cell differentiation?
The process in which a cell changes from one cell type to another, usually to a more specialized type
What changes occur during cell differentiation?
- Size
- Shape
- Membrane potential
- Metabolic activity
- Responsiveness to signals
What causes cell differentiation?
- Epigenetic factors
- Gene expression signatures
- Cell signaling
- Antigen exposure
What is the cell cycle?
The series of phases that a cell goes through to divide and replicate
What is quiescence in the cell cycle?
A state where populations of cells rest and do not replicate
What occurs during the G1 phase of the cell cycle?
The cell increases its supply of proteins, organelles, and grows in size
What happens during the S phase of the cell cycle?
DNA synthesis commences, and the amount of DNA in the cell doubles
What is the purpose of the G2 phase in the cell cycle?
Preparation for mitosis through protein synthesis and rapid cell growth
What is the mitotic phase (M) of the cell cycle?
The phase that consists of nuclear division (karyokinesis)
What are the phases of the mitotic phase?
- Prophase
- Prometaphase
- Metaphase
- Anaphase
- Telophase
What is the G1 checkpoint?
The point where the cell becomes committed to entering the cell cycle
What is necrosis?
Cell death where enzymes leak out of lysosomes and cause inflammation
What is apoptosis?
Programmed cell death where the cell kills itself without membrane leakage
What are the characteristics of necrosis?
- Membrane integrity is lost
- Contents leak out
- Results in inflammation
What are the characteristics of apoptosis?
- Plasma membrane remains intact
- Induces phagocytosis
- No inflammation
