Cellular Growth Regulation Flashcards
How does a cell population grow?
- Hyperplasia
- Hypertrophy
Hyperplasia
Increase in cell number, tissue growth and most common type of tissue and organ growth.
Hypertrophy
Increase in cell size
Example of hypertrophy
Heart increase in size due to an increase in cell size not cell number
Describe growth at the cellular level
Cell growth is the increase in size (sometimes only) and cell division
Phases of the cell cycle
G1, S, G2, and M
What controls the progression of the cell cycle?
Restriction points or three key checkpoints
Apoptosis
A coordinated program of cell dismantling ending in phagocytosis. Programmed cell death.
When does apoptosis occur?
It occurs in response to DNA damage and viral infection
What factors promote growth?
Growth factors, cytokines, and interleukins
What are mitogens?
Mitogens are proteins that stimulate proliferation and maintain survival.
How are mitogens named?
Named after originally identified target e.g. EGF, FGF, interleukins but found to work on other cells other than the ones they have been named after.
Example of a protein that stimulates differentiation and inhibits proliferation
TGF beta
Example of a protein that induces apoptosis
TNF alpha and other members of the TNF family
What are the three broad classes of factors that promote growth?
- Paracrine
- Autocrine
- Endocrine
Paracrine class
Produced locally and act on nearby cells - stimulate proliferation of a different cell type that has the appropriate cell surface receptor
Autocrine class
Produced by a cell that also expresses the appropriate cell surface receptor
Endocrine class
Work like conventional hormones - produced growth factors that work on distant organs and cells (effects).
Describe the cell population growth graph
- Growth factor added to induce cell number increase
- Removing the growth factor will show inhibition in cell growth.
- Adding a growth inhibitor will cause the growth of the cells to become stagnant.
- A death signal such as TNFa can be added which will decrease the cell number due to apoptosis or necrosis occurring.
When are cell population graphs used?
Used in lab when looking at the number of cells over time and the effect of different proteins
Describe the phases of the cell cycle
Mitosis = the production of two daughter cells. One re-enters the cell cycle, starting division and the other becomes a quiescent cell (G0). G1 = Cell grows in cell size, DNA - 2N. S = Synthesis phase, DNA replication occurs incorporation of thymidine. Cells grow in size as most macromolecules are synthesized continuously throughout interphase. G2 = Cells are ploidy, 4N.