Chapter 10 Stem Cells, Cell Division and Cancer

Overview

In this chapter, we consider two topics of great significance for human health:  1) stem cells, which can give rise to all types of cells in the body and hold therapeutic potential for many diseases; and 2) cancer, which the World Health Organization (WHO) ranks as the first or second leading cause of death for people under age 70 in most countries of the world. Humans and all other multicellular organisms are made of cells that divide by mitosis to generate all the cells in a complete organism—more than two trillion cells in a human newborn and more than 35 trillion in an adult! During this process, specialized cell types with distinct forms and functions develop due to expression of particular subsets of genes from the organism’s genome. Signaling molecules are produced that bind to and activate specific receptors on certain groups of cells within a developing organism, initiating signaling cascades that cause certain genes to be expressed (see Sec. 3.1 for steps in gene expression) and others to be silenced (not expressed). Very early in development, all of the cells are so-called “stem cells,” which have the potential to divide indefinitely and to become all cell types in a complete organism; however, as cells become specialized, they lose these abilities. Fully specialized cells no longer divide and cannot become other types of cells except under artificial or abnormal circumstances. The regenerative capacity of stem cells has important potential for the treatment of human diseases that are caused by deficiencies in particular cell types.

In a fully formed organism, cell number is carefully controlled, with many proteins collaborating in pathways that regulate cell division, cell death, and many other behaviors. Genetic mutations (DNA sequence changes; see Sec. 3.1.4) may inactivate some of these regulatory mechanisms, leading to the out-of-control cell growth that is cancer. Cancer cells share many features of stem cells that are abnormal for the specialized cell types from which they originate. Thus, the same features that can be beneficial when they allow stem cells to generate and replace missing or damaged cells can also be the cause of a dreaded disease in the form of cancer. In this chapter, we first consider how cell growth, division, and behavior are regulated in normal cells, along with the mechanisms that allow stem cells to give rise to specialized cells. We then discuss what goes wrong in cancer and how it develops. We will also consider ethical issues related to stem cells and how we can most effectively treat and reduce our risks for various cancers.

Chapter Outline

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Review Questions

THE PURPOSE of these review quizzes is to guide students in where their knowledge and understanding is strong, where it is weak, and where time should best be spent in studying.

CHAPTER 10:

  1. What is homeostasis, and how is it maintained within a multicellular organism?  What changes occur as cells differentiate and form tissues?    (If you cannot explain these things, or if you are not sure, then you need to reread Section 10.1.)
  2. How do cells send signals to other cells?  How do cells respond to different types of signals that they receive?  What are some ways in which gene expression and protein function are regulated?  And what does it mean for a biological process to be ‘regulated’?   (If you cannot explain these things, or if you are not sure, then you need to reread Section 10.2.)
  3. What are the steps in the eukaryotic cell cycle, and how are transitions between these steps controlled, so as to regulate cell division?  What determines whether a cell will continue to divide or will cease division? What are telomeres, and how are they related to cell division?  What is apoptosis, and what stimulates its occurrence?   (If you cannot explain these things, or if you are not sure, then you need to reread Section 10.3.)
  4. What are stem cells?  How do they differ from other cells?  What are some of the types of stem cells?  Where do they occur?  How can stem cells be used therapeutically?  What problems may arise?    (If you cannot explain these things, or if you are not sure, then you need to reread Section 10.4.)
  5. How do cancer cells differ from other cells?  What are some of the ways in which cancer cells can arise?  What are oncogenes and proto-oncogenes?  What are tumor suppressor genes?  What role do viruses play?  What role do environmental factors play?  What are some of the ways in which progression to cancer can be controlled?  (If you cannot explain these things, or if you are not sure, then you need to reread Section 10.5.)
  6. Identify at least six factors that can increase the risk of developing cancer.  How can some of these factors be controlled?  For which of these factors is a causal mechanism known or suspected?  (If you cannot explain this, or if you are not sure, then you need to reread Section 10.6.)
  7. What are some common methods of cancer treatment, and how do they work?  How effective are they?  What is metastasis, and how does it affect the likely course of cancer therapy?  Identify five or more ways in which cancer risks can be reduced.  Why are certain cancers easier to treat than others?  (If you cannot explain these things, or if you are not sure, then you need to reread Section 10.7.)

Open Response Study Questions

These questions are designed to assess your understanding of the topics explored in this chapter. You can use these questions in three ways:

Before you start …

Read through the questions before you read the chapter to help prime you to read the text more carefully and strategically. Remember that you are just starting out on your learning journey, so don’t feel disheartened if you don’t know how to answer them yet!

Whilst you read …

As you work through the chapter, have another go at answering the questions to see how you are progressing. You can also answer the questions with the textbook open in front of you, in order to create model answers that can be used to refer back to later.

At the end …

Answer the questions once you have finished reading to see what you have learned. Check your responses against your model answers and use these to identify any gaps in your understanding.

DEFINITIONS:

In your own words, define ANY TWO of the following terms:

Contact inhibition   Malignant    Proto-oncogene    “Two-hit” theory    Telomere

ESSAYS:

Answer any two of the following questions.  Make sure to answer all parts of any question you choose.

1. Explain what the proto-oncogene theory says, and how this theory is directing or focusing further research.

2. (A) What does chemotherapy do?  (B) When is it used, and why?  (C) What problems are associated with chemotherapy? (D) Describe at least one measure to lessen these problems.

3. Give 3 or more examples of carcinogens encountered by workers in certain occupations, describing in each case the type of exposure, the carcinogen, and the body site(s) affected.

4. (A) Describe the Ames test (B) what important risks does it FAIL to detect?

5. Describe at least four ways in which gene expression can be controlled.

6. Describethe “two hit” theory, and the evidence for it.  Give as many specific details as you can.

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Chapter 11
The Nervous System and Senses