Cell Communication and Cell Cycle Flashcards

Flashcards on Cell Communication, Signal Transduction, Feedback, Cell Cycle, and Mitosis.

Taxis

Movement of an organism in response to a stimulus, can be positive or negative.

Taxes

Innate behavioral responses or instincts.

Chemotaxis

Movement in response to chemicals.

Ligands

Signaling molecules that bind to receptors.

Signal transduction

The process by which an external signal is transmitted to the inside of a cell.

Ligand-gated ion channels

Open or close an ion channel upon binding a particular ligand.

Catalytic receptors

Have an enzymatic active site on the cytoplasmic side of the membrane; enzyme activity is initiated by ligand binding at the extracellular surface.

G-protein-linked receptor

Binds a G-protein on the intracellular side when a ligand is bound extracellularly, activating secondary messengers.

Homeostasis

The set of conditions under which living things can successfully survive.

Negative feedback pathway

Works by turning itself off using the end product of the pathway.

Positive feedback pathway

Further stimulates the pathway.

Cell cycle

The period from the beginning of one division to the beginning of the next.

Interphase

The growing phase of the cell cycle, divided into G1, S, and G2 stages.

S phase

The phase when the cell replicates its genetic material.

Sister chromatids

Identical strands of DNA held together by a centromere.

Cell cycle checkpoints

Control mechanisms that ensure cell division is happening properly in eukaryotic cells.

Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs)

Regulate cell cycle progression.

Oncogenes

Mutated genes that induce cancer.

Tumour suppressor genes

Prevent the conversion of normal cells into cancer cells.

Apoptosis

Programmed cell death.

Mitosis

Cellular division occurring in four stages: prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase.

Prophase

Nuclear envelope disappears and chromosomes condense.

Metaphase

Chromosomes align at the metaphase plate and mitotic spindles attach to kinetochores.

Anaphase

Chromosomes are pulled away from the center.

Telophase

Two new nuclei form; cytokinesis occurs during this phase.

Cytokinesis

The cytoplasm and plasma membranes pinch to form two distinct, identical daughter cells.