Textbook Question
What evidence suggests that during anaphase, kinetochore microtubules shorten at the kinetochore?
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Ch. 12 - The Cell Cycle
Freeman7th EditionBiological ScienceISBN: 9783584863285
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Table of contents
- Ch. 1 - Biology: The Study of Life11
- Ch. 2 - Water and Carbon: The Chemical Basis of Life10
- Ch.3 - Protein Structure and Function11
- Ch.4 - Nucleic Acids and the RNA World10
- Ch. 5 - An Introduction to Carbohydrates10
- Ch. 6 - Lipids, Membranes, and the First Cells10
- Ch. 7 - Inside the Cell10
- Ch. 8 - Energy and Enzymes: An Introduction to Metabolism10
- Ch. 9 - Cellular Respiration and Fermentation16
- Ch. 10 - Photosynthesis14
- Ch. 11 - Cell-Cell Interactions14
- Ch. 12 - The Cell Cycle12
- Ch. 13 - Meiosis13
- Ch. 14 - Mendel and the Gene32
- Ch. 15 - DNA and the Gene: Synthesis and Repair8
- Ch. 16 - How Genes Work35
- Ch. 17 - Transcription, RNA Processing, and Translation16
- Ch. 18 - Control of Gene Expression in Bacteria19
- Ch. 19 - Control of Gene Expression in Eukaryotes17
- Ch. 20 - The Molecular Revolution: Biotechnology, Genomics, and New Frontiers23
- Ch. 21 - Genes, Development, and Evolution13
- Ch. 22 - Evolution by Natural Selection17
- Ch. 23 - Evolutionary Processes13
- Ch. 24 - Speciation15
- Ch. 25 - Phylogenies and the History of Life13
- Ch. 26 - Bacteria and Archaea17
- Ch. 27 - Diversification of Eukaryotes19
- Ch. 28 - Green Algae and Land Plants18
- Ch. 29 - Fungi19
- Ch. 30 - An Introduction to Animals9
- Ch. 31 - Protostome Animals20
- Ch. 32 - Deuterostome Animals19
- Ch. 33 - Viruses16
- Ch. 34 - Plant Form and Function16
- Ch. 35 - Water and Sugar Transport in Plants16
- Ch. 36 - Plant Nutrition13
- Ch. 37 - Plant Sensory Systems, Signals, and Responses16
- Ch. 38 - Flowering Plant Reproduction and Development16
- Ch. 39 - Animal Form and Function16
- Ch. 40 - Water and Electrolyte Balance in Animals16
- Ch. 41 - Animal Nutrition16
- Ch. 42 - Gas Exchange and Circulation16
- Ch. 43 - Animal Nervous Systems16
- Ch. 44 - Animal Sensory Systems16
- Ch. 45 - Animal Movement11
- Ch. 46 - Chemical Signals in Animals16
- Ch. 47 - Animal Reproduction and Development18
- Ch. 48 - The Immune System in Animals16
- Ch. 49 - An Introduction to Ecology16
- Ch. 50 - Behavioral Ecology16
- Ch. 51 - Population Ecology16
- Ch. 52 - Community Ecology20
- Ch. 53 - Ecosystems and Global Ecology16
- Ch. 54 - Biodiversity and Conservation Ecology16
Chapter 12, Problem 8
Compare and contrast the effects of removing growth factors from asynchronous cultures of human cells that are normal and those that are cancerous.
Verified step by step guidance1
Identify the role of growth factors: Growth factors are proteins that stimulate cell division and proliferation. They bind to specific receptors on the cell surface, triggering a cascade of cellular processes that lead to cell growth and division.
Understand the behavior of normal human cells: In normal cells, growth factors ensure controlled cell division. When growth factors are removed, normal cells typically enter a quiescent state (G0 phase) where they are metabolically active but not dividing, maintaining tissue homeostasis.
Examine the behavior of cancerous human cells: Cancer cells often exhibit uncontrolled growth and division due to mutations in genes that regulate the cell cycle. These mutations can lead to independence from growth factors, allowing cancer cells to proliferate even in their absence.
Compare the effects of removing growth factors: When growth factors are removed, normal cells stop dividing and enter a quiescent state, whereas cancerous cells may continue to divide due to their growth factor independence.
Discuss the implications for cancer treatment: Understanding the differential responses to growth factor removal can help in designing targeted therapies. For example, therapies that inhibit growth factor signaling pathways might be effective in treating cancers that still depend on external growth factors.
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Key Concepts
Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.
Growth Factors
Growth factors are proteins that stimulate cell proliferation, differentiation, and survival. They bind to specific receptors on the cell surface, triggering signaling pathways that promote various cellular functions. In normal cells, growth factors are essential for regulating the cell cycle and maintaining tissue homeostasis, while in cancerous cells, they can contribute to uncontrolled growth and survival.
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Factors Limiting Population Growth
Asynchronous Cell Cultures
Asynchronous cell cultures consist of cells at various stages of the cell cycle, rather than synchronized at a specific phase. This model reflects more closely the behavior of cells in vivo, where they are not all dividing at the same time. Studying asynchronous cultures allows researchers to observe how different cell types respond to external factors, such as the absence of growth factors, in a more realistic context.
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Cell Cycle Regulation
The cell cycle is a series of phases that a cell goes through to divide and replicate. It is tightly regulated by various checkpoints and proteins, including cyclins and cyclin-dependent kinases. In normal cells, the removal of growth factors can lead to cell cycle arrest, preventing division, while cancerous cells often bypass these regulatory mechanisms, allowing them to continue proliferating despite the absence of growth factors.
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Related Practice
Textbook Question
What evidence suggests that during anaphase, kinetochore microtubules shorten at the kinetochore?
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Textbook Question
The following statements are about the control of chromatin condensation. Select True or False for each.T/F Reducing histone acetylase activity is likely to decrease gene transcription.T/F Mutations that reduce the number of positively charged amino acids on histones should promote open chromatin.T/F Chromatin remodeling complexes add chemical groups to histones.T/F Adding an inhibitor of DNA methylation is likely to reduce gene transcription.
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Textbook Question
A particular cell type spends 4 hours in G1 phase, 2 hours in S-phase, 2 hours in G2 phase, and 30 minutes in M-phase. If a pulse-chase experiment were performed with radioactive thymidine on an asynchronous culture of such cells, what percentage of mitotic cells would be radiolabeled 9 hours after the pulse?
a. 0 percent
b. 50 percent
c. 75 percent
d. 100 percent
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Textbook Question
When a fruit fly embryo first begins to develop, a large cell is generated that contains over 8000 genetically identical nuclei. What is most likely responsible for this result?
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