cell polarity Flashcards
what is cell polarity
the organization of proteins inside, and at the surface of cells, such that regions of the cell have distinct protein compositions and the cell can thereby have different capabilities, morphologies and functions
why is cell polarity necessary
for cells to generate a wide variety of forms to perform a diverse array of functions.
stages of cell polarity development
- site is marked for binding
- what proteins/signals are required
- key proteins arrive at site to act on signals e.g making protein/cytoskeleton
- how does site continue to function and stay at site and hoe does it all come apart?
benefits of budding yeast as cell polarity model
- Yeast undergoes morphological changes in response to both internal and external signals.
- Yeast is genetically tractable, the entire genome sequence is known and annotated.
- It has been used to understand fundamental aspects of many key cell processes including the cell cycle, secretion and cell polarity.
internal signals yeast
in response to growth and division signals eg growth of a bud and cytokinesis
external signals yeast
in response to pheromones (for mating) and nutritional signals (cells can elongate
what does position of new bud in budding cells depend on
position of the new bud, which will grow to form a new daughter cell depends on the cell type, depends on whether the cell is haploid or diploid
budding patterns in haploid budding cells
AXIAL pattern in which both mother and
daughter cells are constrained to form buds immediately adjacent to the previous site of cell separation because they can find a cell to mate with
budding patterns in diploid budding cells
- Diploid cells bud in a BIPOLAR manner in which mother and daughter
cells bud at the poles of their ellipsoidal cells.- focus is on survival → find nutrition
genes identified for axial pattern
BUD10, BUD3, BUD4 and the septins
Products from these genes are involved in marking the mother bud neck during one cycle as a site for budding in the next cycle.
default cell polarity pattern
without specific proteins to recognise, cell defaults from axial to bipolar pattern
genes required for bipolar budding pattern
BUD8, BUD9, RAX2 and components of the actin cytoskeleton are involved
Products from these genes mark the ends of diploid cells
genes required for bipolar and axial budding pattern
BUD1, BUD2, BUD5.
Proteins encoded by these genes decode the axial and bipolar marks and signal to the machinery involved in generating the polarity axis.
Mutations in these genes cause a random budding pattern in both haploid and diploid cells.
what is responsible for polarisation of the cell cytoskeleton and other cell
components.
polarity establishment machinery
what proteins are involved in polarity establishment
family of Rho-GTPases
role of Cdc42
Cdc42 is a small GTPase of the Rho family, that is regulated through cycles of activation and inactivation by its binding partners Cdc24 (a GEF) and several GAPs.
how is polarity site to become established in yeast uding Cdc42 and Cdc24
The GEF (Guanine nucleotide exchange factor) for Cdc42 (Cdc24) binds to the active form of Bud1 at sites marked for budding. Cdc24 then binds Bud1 and can then activate Cdc42 to allow the polarity site to become established.
what is Cdc24
The GEF (Guanine nucleotide exchange factor) for Cdc42
purpose of polarisation
a polarised yeast cell with machinery in place for inheritance of genetic material and for movement of cytoplasmic organelles and other material from mother to daughter cell
steps for mating polarity
- marking site
- decoding site
- establishing site
- maintaining site
receptors that detect and bind pheremones
- members of the conserved G-protein coupled receptor family
- interact with a heterotrimeric G-protein that orchestrates the downstream cell response
why can cells only mate during G1
cells only mate during G1 as once mate nuclei fuse, during replication cell cant survive as can not do both at once = cell cycle arrest during mating
how do daughter cells have different properties from mother cells
- because it can inherit different RNAs
- cell cycles start at different times
- certain myosin filaments travel along actin and carry RNAs
candida albicans fungus in disease
- benign member of the mucosal flora
- commonly causes mucosal disease. If it becomes invasive there is substantial morbidity and in vulnerable patients it causes life-threatening bloodstream infections. 30-50% fatal
properties of candida that allow it to cause disease
- Studies have shown that the ability to switch between the yeast and hyphal form of Candida are central to the virulence of this organism
- Hyphal formation is stimulated at 37°C by serum or neutral pH.
- Hyphae are more adherent to mammalian cells and are important for tissue penetration.
- Yeast cells are carried more effectively in the bloodstream promoting fungal dissemination in the body.
what causes diversity in daughter cells
- Polarised mother cells could divide to generate daughters that have inherited different components
- Daughters could be equal at ‘birth’ but then become different by exposure to different environmental signals
steps in generating polarity and cell fate decisions
- Establishment of an axis of polarity (this involves marking a site, signalling and establishing – as discussed in last lecture)
- Mitotic spindle is positioned along the axis
- Cell fate determinants are often distributed differentially to daughter cells