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Cell biology is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function and behavior of cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for living and functioning of organisms. Cell biology is the study of structural and functional units of cells . Cell biology encompasses both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells and has many subtopics which may include the study of cell metabolism, cell communication, cell cycle, biochemistry, and cell composition. The study of cells is performed using several microscopy techniques, cell culture, and cell fractionation. These have allowed for and are currently being used for discoveries and research pertaining to how cells function, ultimately giving insight into understanding larger organisms. Knowing the components of cells and how cells work is fundamental to all biological sciences while also being essential for research in biomedical fields such as cancer, and other diseases. Research in cell biology is interconnected to other fields such as genetics, molecular genetics, molecular biology, medical microbiology, immunology, and cytochemistry.
The cell cycle, or cell-division cycle, is the series of events that take place in a cell that cause it to divide into two daughter cells. These events include the duplication of its DNA and some of its organelles, and subsequently the partitioning of its cytoplasm and other components into two daughter cells in a process called cell division.
DNA repair is a collection of processes by which a cell identifies and corrects damage to the DNA molecules that encode its genome. In human cells, both normal metabolic activities and environmental factors such as radiation can cause DNA damage, resulting in tens of thousands of individual molecular lesions per cell per day. Many of these lesions cause structural damage to the DNA molecule and can alter or eliminate the cell's ability to transcribe the gene that the affected DNA encodes. Other lesions induce potentially harmful mutations in the cell's genome, which affect the survival of its daughter cells after it undergoes mitosis. As a consequence, the DNA repair process is constantly active as it responds to damage in the DNA structure. When normal repair processes fail, and when cellular apoptosis does not occur, irreparable DNA damage may occur, including double-strand breaks and DNA crosslinkages. This can eventually lead to malignant tumors, or cancer as per the two hit hypothesis.
S phase (Synthesis Phase) is the phase of the cell cycle in which DNA is replicated, occurring between G1 phase and G2 phase. Since accurate duplication of the genome is critical to successful cell division, the processes that occur during S-phase are tightly regulated and widely conserved.
Checkpoint may refer to:
ATM serine/threonine kinase, symbol ATM, is a serine/threonine protein kinase that is recruited and activated by DNA double-strand breaks. It phosphorylates several key proteins that initiate activation of the DNA damage checkpoint, leading to cell cycle arrest, DNA repair or apoptosis. Several of these targets, including p53, CHK2, BRCA1, NBS1 and H2AX are tumor suppressors.
Cell cycle checkpoints are control mechanisms in the eukaryotic cell cycle which ensure its proper progression. Each checkpoint serves as a potential termination point along the cell cycle, during which the conditions of the cell are assessed, with progression through the various phases of the cell cycle occurring only when favorable conditions are met. There are many checkpoints in the cell cycle, but the three major ones are: the G1 checkpoint, also known as the Start or restriction checkpoint or Major Checkpoint; the G2/M checkpoint; and the metaphase-to-anaphase transition, also known as the spindle checkpoint. Progression through these checkpoints is largely determined by the activation of cyclin-dependent kinases by regulatory protein subunits called cyclins, different forms of which are produced at each stage of the cell cycle to control the specific events that occur therein.
The G1/S transition is a stage in the cell cycle at the boundary between the G1 phase, in which the cell grows, and the S phase, during which DNA is replicated. It is governed by cell cycle checkpoints to ensure cell cycle integrity and the subsequent S phase can pause in response to improperly or partially replicated DNA. During this transition the cell makes decisions to become quiescent, differentiate, make DNA repairs, or proliferate based on environmental cues and molecular signaling inputs. The G1/S transition occurs late in G1 and the absence or improper application of this highly regulated check point can lead to cellular transformation and disease states such as cancer
Serine/threonine-protein kinase ATR also known as ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3-related protein (ATR) or FRAP-related protein 1 (FRP1) is an enzyme that, in humans, is encoded by the ATR gene. It is a large kinase of about 301.66 kDa. ATR belongs to the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-related kinase protein family. ATR is activated in response to single strand breaks, and works with ATM to ensure genome integrity.
CHEK2 is a tumor suppressor gene that encodes the protein CHK2, a serine-threonine kinase. CHK2 is involved in DNA repair, cell cycle arrest or apoptosis in response to DNA damage. Mutations to the CHEK2 gene have been linked to a wide range of cancers.
Postreplication repair is the repair of damage to the DNA that takes place after replication.
Checkpoint kinase 1, commonly referred to as Chk1, is a serine/threonine-specific protein kinase that, in humans, is encoded by the CHEK1 gene. Chk1 coordinates the DNA damage response (DDR) and cell cycle checkpoint response. Activation of Chk1 results in the initiation of cell cycle checkpoints, cell cycle arrest, DNA repair and cell death to prevent damaged cells from progressing through the cell cycle.
Cell cycle checkpoint control protein RAD9A is a protein that in humans is encoded by the RAD9A gene.Rad9 has been shown to induce G2 arrest in the cell cycle in response to DNA damage in yeast cells. Rad9 was originally found in budding yeast cells but a human homolog has also been found and studies have suggested that the molecular mechanisms of the S and G2 checkpoints are conserved in eukaryotes. Thus, what is found in yeast cells are likely to be similar in human cells.
Cell cycle checkpoint protein RAD17 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the RAD17 gene.
Mediator of DNA damage checkpoint protein 1 is a 2080 amino acid long protein that in humans is encoded by the MDC1 gene located on the short arm (p) of chromosome 6. MDC1 protein is a regulator of the Intra-S phase and the G2/M cell cycle checkpoints and recruits repair proteins to the site of DNA damage. It is involved in determining cell survival fate in association with tumor suppressor protein p53. This protein also goes by the name Nuclear Factor with BRCT Domain 1 (NFBD1).
Mitotic spindle assembly checkpoint protein MAD2B is a protein that in humans is encoded by the MAD2L2 gene.
Ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E2 B is a protein that in humans is encoded by the UBE2B gene.
Forkhead box protein N3 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the FOXN3 gene.
Wee1 is a nuclear kinase belonging to the Ser/Thr family of protein kinases in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Wee1 has a molecular mass of 96 kDa and is a key regulator of cell cycle progression. It influences cell size by inhibiting the entry into mitosis, through inhibiting Cdk1. Wee1 has homologues in many other organisms, including mammals.
The G2-M DNA damage checkpoint is an important cell cycle checkpoint in eukaryotic organisms that ensures that cells don't initiate mitosis until damaged or incompletely replicated DNA is sufficiently repaired. Cells which have a defective G2-M checkpoint, if they enter M phase before repairing their DNA, it leads to apoptosis or death after cell division. The defining biochemical feature of this checkpoint is the activation of M-phase cyclin-CDK complexes, which phosphorylate proteins that promote spindle assembly and bring the cell to metaphase.
References
- ↑ Callegari AJ, Kelly TJ (October 2006). "UV irradiation induces a postreplication DNA damage checkpoint". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 103 (43): 15877–82. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0607343103 . PMC 1613229 . PMID 17043220.