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Mitosis
Mitosis
• Key points:
– All cells within an organism have the same genes.
– What makes cells different from each other is that different genes
are turned on and turned off in different cells.
• Metaphase
• Chromosomes lined up on equator of spindle
• centrosomes at opposite ends of cell
• Anaphase
• Centromeres divide: each 2-chromatid chromosome becomes
two 1-chromatid chromosomes
• Chromosomes pulled to opposite poles by the spindle
• Telophase
• Chromosomes de-condense
• Nuclear envelope reappears
• Cytokinesis: the cytoplasm is divided into 2 cells
Cancer
• Cancer is a disease of uncontrolled cell division. It starts with a
single cell that loses its control mechanisms due to a genetic
mutation. That cell starts dividing without limit, and eventually kills
the host.
• Normal cells are controlled by several factors.
– Normal cells stay in the G1 stage of the cell cycle until they are given a
specific signal to enter the S phase, in which the DNA replicates and the
cell prepares for division. Cancer cells enter the S phase without
waiting for a signal.
– Normal cells are mortal. This means that they can divide about 50
times and then they lose the ability to divide, and eventually die. This
“clock” gets re-set during the formation of the gametes. Cancer cells
escape this process of mortality: they are immortal and can divide
endlessly.
– Normal cells that suffer significant chromosome damage destroy
themselves due to the action of a gene called “p53”. Cancer cells either
lose the p53 gene or ignore its message and fail to kill themselves.
Cancer Progression
• There are many different forms of cancer, affecting
different cell types and working in different ways. All
start out with mutations in specific genes called
“oncogenes”. The normal, unmutated versions of the
oncogenes provide the control mechanisms for the
cell. The mutations are caused by radiation, certain
chemicals (carcinogens), and various random events
during DNA replication.
• Once a single cell starts growing uncontrollably, it
forms a tumor, a small mass of cells. No further
progress can occur unless the cancerous mass gets
its own blood supply. “Angiogenesis” is the process
of developing a system of small arteries and veins to
supply the tumor. Most tumors don’t reach this stage.
• A tumor with a blood supply will grow into a large
mass. Eventually some of the cancer cells will break
loose and move through the blood supply to other
parts of the body, where they start to multiply. This
process is called metastasis. It occurs because the
tumor cells lose the proteins on their surface that hold
them to other cells.
Cancer Treatment
• Two basic treatments: surgery to remove the tumor, and radiation or
chemicals to kill actively dividing cells.
• It is hard to remove all the tumor cells. Tumors often lack sharp
boundaries for easy removal, and metastatic tumors can be very
small and anywhere in the body.
• Radiation and chemotherapy are aimed at killing actively dividing
cells, but killing all dividing cells is lethal: you must make new blood
cells, skin cells, etc. So treatment must be carefully balanced to
avoid killing the patient.
• Chemotherapy also has the problem of natural selection within the
tumor. If any of the tumor cells are resistant to the chemical, they
will survive and multiply. The cancer seems to have disappeared,
but it comes back a few years later in a form that is resistant to
chemotherapy. Using multiple drugs can decrease the risk of
relapse: it’s hard for a cell to develop resistance to several drugs at
the same time.