BIOL 112 Lecture Notes - Lecture 31: S Phase, Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 4, Caffeine

• School: McGill University
• Department: Biology
• Course: BIOL 112
• Professor: Jacalyn Vogel

Document Summary

So cell division is put on hiatus indefinitely. This is usually not a problem, as chromosome replication occurs without problems. However, if you both block chromosome replication and disable the checkpoint, you have problems. A cell called a macrophage identifies a virus, sends a chemical signal to t-cells telling them to start dividing, and about the infection. So t-cells don"t start dividing until they get a signal from a macrophage o unregulated division of cells → cancer o. If the g1 to s checkpoint is defective, a cell can divide in an unregulated manner (i. e. dividing when it shouldn"t be) For example, if cyclin e is always active or overabundant, a cell will repeatedly divide → cancer. If we can understand how signals regulate the cell cycle, we might be able to design drugs to interfere with these signals (and thus fight cancer)