Cancer
These mutations result in a protein that is permanently active, promoting unregulated cell division.
What are gain-of-function mutations?
This molecule binds to receptors on the cell surface and initiates a signaling cascade, often activating kinases.
What is a ligand?
This process involves the conversion of DNA into messenger RNA.
What is transcription?
This phase of the cell cycle is where DNA replication occurs.
What is the S phase?
These polysaccharides, found in plant cell walls, provide structural support and are composed of glucose monomers.
What is cellulose?
These proteins, when mutated, fail to stop cell division, leading to tumor formation.
What are tumor suppressors?
This type of signaling involves the transmission of signals to nearby cells through local mediators.
What is paracrine signaling?
These proteins bind to specific DNA sequences in the promoter region, helping to initiate the transcription of a gene.
What are transcription factors?
This checkpoint ensures that the cell has successfully completed DNA replication before moving to mitosis.
What is the G2 checkpoint?
During this phase of the action potential, sodium channels open, allowing sodium ions to rush into the cell.
What is depolarization?
This process allows cancer cells to spread from the primary tumor to other parts of the body.
What is metastasis?
This type of receptor, characterized by its 7 transmembrane domains, activates intracellular signaling in response to a ligand, and is involved in many physiological processes such as vision, smell, and immune response.
What are G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs)?
This complex of proteins acts as an intermediary between activators and the transcription machinery, facilitating gene expression.
What are mediators?
These proteins bind to cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) to regulate the progression of the cell cycle, with their levels rising and falling at specific points in the cycle.
What are cyclins?
This type of receptor on the postsynaptic neuron binds neurotransmitters and opens ion channels to initiate a cellular response.
What is a ligand-gated ion channel?
Cancer cells often activate this enzyme, which allows them to maintain their telomeres and continue dividing indefinitely.
What is telomerase?
This small GTPase is often activated by receptor tyrosine kinases and plays a key role in cell proliferation, survival, and differentiation, making it a critical player in cancer signaling.
What is Ras?
These proteins bind to enhancer regions and help to activate transcription by recruiting the transcriptional machinery to the gene.
What are activators?
This process is a type of programmed cell death that can be triggered when cells accumulate irreparable DNA damage.
What is apoptosis?
This component of the extracellular matrix provides tensile strength to tissues such as skin and tendons, and is made up of triple-helical fibers.
What is collagen?
This type of tumor suppressor protein is responsible for checking DNA damage and inducing cell cycle arrest or apoptosis in damaged cells.
What is p53?
This signaling pathway is activated by receptor tyrosine kinases and plays a role in cell survival, growth, and differentiation
What is the MAPK?
These experiments, often associated with cloning, involve transferring the nucleus from a somatic cell into an enucleated egg cell, demonstrating that the nucleus can reprogram the egg cell to develop into a whole organism.
What are nuclear transfer experiments?
Cyclins activate CDKs to drive cell cycle progression, but this type of regulatory protein inhibits CDKs, often halting the cycle at checkpoints, such as the G1 checkpoint.
What are cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors (CKIs)?
These specialized proteins help unfold and refold misfolded proteins, preventing aggregation and ensuring proper protein function.
What are molecular chaperones?