Cells, Specialisation and Development Flashcards
What are the features of cell equilibirum?
Proliferation - differentiation - death
What do degenerative diseases mean?
Cellular equilibrium doesn’t work as well when you get older
What is cell cycling?
- New cells through cell division
- Replaced lost or damaged tissue
- Allows growth and repair
How is cancer related to cellular equilirbrium?
- Disruption/imbalance
- Deregualted cell cycle
- Too many cells that arent functional or dont die
What is a melanoma?
- Cancer that develops on the surface of the skin
- Cell cycle control - no longer regulated
What are the different stages of the cell cycle?
- G1 - Gap 1 (11hrs)
- G0 (Rest - don’t divide)
- S - DNA synthesis (8hrs)
- G2 - gap 2 (4hrs)
- M - mitosis (1hr)
What is meant by Synescent?
Can no longer divide - come to the end of their dividng ability
Are cells still happening whilst cell division is occurring?
Yes
Where are the checkpoints during the cell cycle?
- G1 - check for damaged DNA
- G2 - unreplicated or damaged DNA
- M - chromosome misalignment
Describe Gap Phase 1 (G1)
- 2n DNA
- Can be very long or short
- Cell growth
- Synthesis of macromolecules
- Detection of DNA damage and repair
Describe the G1 Checkpoint
- DNA damage
- Suitable environemntal conditions
- If checkpoint is passed cell become committed to DNA synthesis
Describe Gap Phase 0 (G0)
- 2n DNA
- Cells leave the cell cycle
- In a quiescent state
- Still living and functional
- Can last for years
- Can re-enter cell cycle
- Stop dividing through contact inhibition (fill up space)
Describe Synthesis Phase (S)
- Replication = 4n
- Start of S phase each chromosome = one coiled DNA double helix (chromatid)
- End of S phase each chromosome = two identical coiled DNA double helices (sister chromatids)
Describe Gap Phase 2 (G2)
- 4n complement of DNA
- Preparation for mitosis
Describe the G2 Checkpoint
- Unreplicated and damaged DNA
- Prevent cell entering mitosis with faulty DNA
- Helps maintain genomic stability
What are the stages of Mitosis?
Prophase Metaphase Anaphase Telophase Cytokinesis
Describe the Mitosis Checkpoint
Spindle assembly checkpoint for misaligned chromosomes
Describe prophase
chromosomes condense (36mins)
Describe metaphase
chromosomes attach to spindle fibres and align on the equator (3mins)
Describe Anaphase
sister chromatids pulled to opposite poles by spindle fibres (3 mins)
Describe Telophase
nuclear membrane reforms and subsequently a cell plate is laid down between daughter cells (cytokinesis) (10 mins)
What is meant by cell signalling molecules have mitogenic properties?
- Induc cell proliferation by promoting entry into the cell cycle
How does PDGF have mitogenic properties?
- Platelet-derived Growth Factor
- Widespread effects
- eg during wound healing
How does FGF have mitogenic properties?
pleiotropic (many different types of effects) effects, fibroblast growth factor
How does TGF beta have mitogenic properties?
members can stimulate cell proliferation or inhibit proliferation depending on cell type or concentration
How does erythropoietin have mitogenic properties?
more selective, induces proliferation of BFU-E and CFU-E during erythropoiesis
How were sea urchins used in a cell cycle control experiment?
- Clear start to the cell cycle
- Fertilised
- Took samples every 10 mins after fertilisation
- Run samples through SDS polioacrolimite gel and analysed them
- One protein got stronger and stronger then faded away
- Protein was coming and going in a distinct cycle
- Called the protein cyclin
What is the cell cycle regulated by?
cyclins and cyclin dependent kinases (Cdks)
Describe RB dephosphorylated (active)?
- Prevents G1-S transition
- Breaks the cell cycle when dephosphorylated
What is RB?
Retinoblastoma protein
What does RB do?
Brakes on the cell cycle - called a tumour supressor protein.
- Controls by slowing it down
What controls RB phosphorylation/dephosphorylation?
Cdks
Describe what happens when RB is phosphorylated
mitotic stimulus received by the cell and this stimulates the synthesis of Cdk
In this case it’s cdk4 → activate → phosphorylase
Pass a restriction point that enables cell to transit through to S phase
Which cyclins/Cdks are used at which point in the cell cycle?
G1 = cyclin D Cdk4 Cyclin E Cdk2 S = Cyclin A Cdk 2 M = CYclin B Cdk1
Why do cells die?
- Don’t want too many cells
- Most adult cells have a finite lifespan
How do cells die?
Apoptosis or necrosis
What is the process of apoptosis?
- Cellular condensation → everything compacts
- Nuclear fragmentation → form apoptotic bodies which can be consumed by surrounding cells → blebbing on the cell surface
- Rapid phagocytosis
What is the process of necrosis?
- Organelles swell
- Membranes rupture
- Leakage of cell contents
What are the properties of apoptosis?
- Physioloigcal
- No inflammation
What are the properties of necrosis?
- Pathological
- Marked by inflammation → immune system trying to fight against this necrotic event
What are the morpholigical features of necrosis?
- Pathologically induced occurs in response to tissue damage
- Often involves groups of cell that swell and burst, releasing their intracellular contents and frequently induces
- Lack of oxygen is one of the primary reasons
- Eg during a stroke
What are the roles of apoptosis?
- Development → eg born with webbed fingers so we have to remove the cells between the fingers
- Tissue homeostasis → eg older cells removed every 4 weeks, lining of gut or liver, cells are removed and regenerate fresh cells
- Removal of damaged cells → if cells do not pass checkpoints in the cell cycle so not passing on damaged DNA, maintained stability
- Elimination of premalignant cells → we carry mutations which if brought forward could cause cancer
Why does apoptosis use enzymes?
- To break down internal structures
- Cell collapses and fragments
- Neighbouring cells can take in their contents
What is self-renewal?
Gives rise to one stem cell and one daughter cell destined for differeintiaiton
- Production of the stem cell is slef-renewal
What do stem cells need to differentiate?
Through a progenitor cell - intermediate stage
Describe the satges of embyrogenesis.
Day 0 = fertilisation → forms a zygote Day 2 = 2 cell stage Day 3-4 = 4 cell stage Day 4 = 8 cell division Day 5 = forms a blastocyst Day 8-9 = implantation of the blastocyst
Describe the blastocyst
- Formation of a primitive structure
- Sphere structure
- Fluid filled
- Inner cell mass
- Have a trophectoderm
What is the inner cell mass?
Aggregation of cell which will form the embryo
What is the trophoctoderm?
On the outside. Forms extra embryonic tissues such as the placenta and umbilical cord. Allows embryo to survive
What is potency?
Differential potential (range of cells a stem cell can differentiate into)
When do you have totipotent stem cells?
Day 3-4 - early stages, fertilised egg and daughter cells
Describe totipotent stem cells
- Have the ability to develop into an entire organism
- If implanted into the uterus they can generate an organisms
- They can produce the embryonic tissues
When do you have pluripotent cells?
Days 5-8, when you have the formation of the blastocyst and the inner cell mass
Describe pluripotent cells
- Have the ability to make every cell in our bodies
- Do not have the capacity to form the placenta and supporting tissues needed for foetal development → this means that they would be unable to generate a new organism on their own
Why do we need to grow embryonic stem cells in vitro?
Important for therapies
How are embryonic stem cells grown in vitro?
luripotent cells from the ICM of blastocyst separated from the surround trophectoderm
Inner cell masses plated into culture dishes and grown in nutrient medium supplemented with serum, supported by irradiated fibroblast feeder layers
Generate a blastocyst in a lab
Can derive the inner cell masses and expand them by growing them in culture
Feeder layer → supportive cells → sit on the base and secrete nutrients and growth factors to help the stem cells to survive
They can grown in numbers and go through the cell cycle
What is a feeder layer?
Nutrients
- Fibroblast - MEF - used as feed layers
How can we determine the pluripotency of ES cells?
- Assay to test → teratoma assay
- Teratoma → benign tumour that contain cells from all 3 cell layers
- If a stem cell population is pluripotent it will give rise to a teratoma
- Inject SCID mice to form teratomas
Why are SCID mice used?
Severe combined immunodeficiency. Lack T cells and B cells and do not reject foreign tissue
What are teratomas?
Contain differentiated cell types derived from all 3 germ layers
What are the 3 germ layers?
Ectoderm. Mesoderm. Endoderm.
What makes cells pluripotent?
- Transcriptional factors
- eg Oct-4, Sox2 and Nanog
How does Oct-4 work?
transcription factor expressed by embryonic stem cells. At the blastocyst stage, Oct-4 is only expressed by ES cells in the inner cell mass
How does Sox2 work?
transcription factors that forms a complex with Pct-4. Expression pattern similar to Oct-4
How does Nanog work?
Transcription factors specifically expressed by pluripotent ES cells (in the inner cell mass) slightly later than Oct-4
Why can’t most cells in the body divide infintely like stem cells?
Due to telomeres
What are telomeres?
Repeat sequences. Chopped off each time a cell divides. When telomeres have gone the cell can’t divide anymore.
What cells express high levels of telomerase?
ES stem cells and cancer cells
What is telomerase?
helps maintain the protective function of telomeres at the end of chromosomes → adds back the repeating sequences
What is TERC?
Telomerase RNA component
What is TERT?
Telomerase reverse transcriptase
What do TERC and TERT do?
Act as a template and reverse transcriptase to add back the repeating sequence
What are Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPS)?
Take a somatic cell and apply it with transcription factors you can revert it to a pluripotent ES cell
What are some potential uses of iPS cells?
- Produce human organs
- Reprogramme them back
- Can form every cell and tissue type in the body
- In theory you can take them back and put them in the donor
- Correct developmental diseases
What are the risks of iPS?
- Form teratomas
What is meant by multipotent?
- Have a restricted differentiated potential
- Only make cells/tissues in which they reside