Cell growth

Cell growth refers to an increase in the total mass of a cell,

including both cytoplasmic, nuclear and organelle volume.
[1]
 Cell growth occurs when the overall rate of
cellular biosynthesis (production of biomolecules or anabolism)
is greater than the overall rate of cellular degradation (the
destruction of biomolecules via
the proteasome, lysosome or autophagy, or catabolism).[2][3][4]
Cell growth is not to be confused with cell division or the cell
cycle, which are distinct processes that can occur alongside
cell growth during the process of cell proliferation, where a cell,
known as the "mother cell", grows and divides to produce two
"daughter cells".[1] Importantly, cell growth and cell division can
also occur independently of one another. During
early embryonic development (cleavage of the zygote to form
a morula and blastoderm), cell divisions occur repeatedly
without cell growth. Conversely, some cells can grow
without cell division or without any progression of the cell cycle,
such as growth of neurons during axonal pathfinding in nervous
system development.

In multicellular organisms, tissue growth rarely occurs solely

through cell growth without cell division, but most often occurs
through cell proliferation.[1] This is because a single cell with
only one copy of the genome in the cell nucleus can
perform biosynthesis and thus undergo cell growth at only half
the rate of two cells. Hence, two cells grow (accumulate mass)
at twice the rate of a single cell, and four cells grow at 4-times
the rate of a single cell. This principle leads to
an exponential increase of tissue growth rate (mass
accumulation) during cell proliferation, owing to
the exponential increase in cell number.
Cell size depends on both cell growth and cell division, with a
disproportionate increase in the rate of cell growth leading to
production of larger cells and a disproportionate increase in the
rate of cell division leading to production of many smaller
cells. Cell proliferation typically involves balanced cell growth
and cell division rates that maintain a roughly constant cell size
in the exponentially proliferating population of cells.
Some special cells can grow to very large sizes via an unusual
"endoreplication" cell cycle in which the genome is replicated
during S-phase but there is no subsequent mitosis (M-phase)
or cell division (cytokinesis). These large endoreplicating cells
have many copies of the genome, so are highly polyploid.
Oocytes can be unusually large cells in species for which
embryonic development takes place away from the mother's
body within an egg that is laid externally. The large size of
some eggs can be achieved either by pumping in cytosolic
components from adjacent cells through cytoplasmic bridges
named ring canals (Drosophila) or by internalisation of nutrient
storage granules (yolk granules) by endocytosis (frogs).
Cell Life Cycle and Reproduction

The cell cycle (cell-division cycle), is a series of events that

take place in a cell leading to its division and duplication. The
main phases of the cell cycle are interphase, nuclear division,
and cytokinesis. Cell division produces two daughter cells. In
cells without a nucleus (prokaryotic), the cell cycle occurs via
binary fission

Reproduction
Cellular reproduction is a process by which cells duplicate their
contents and then divide to yield multiple cells with
similar, if not duplicate, contents.

Mitosis

Mitosis- nuclear division resulting in the production of two

somatic cells having the same genetic complement (genetically
identical) as the original cell. As mitosis begins they condense
and become visible under a light microscope. They appear as
sister chromatids joined at the centromere. Mitosis is divided
into 4 stages. Prophase- nuclear envelope disintegrates and a
spindle of microtubules forms. Centrioles may help organize the
spindle as in this animal cell. The chromosomes begin to move
toward the midplane of the spindle Metaphase- When they are
on the midplane with centromeres attached to spindle fibers
Anaphase- centromeres separate and the sister chromatids,
now termed chromosomes, are pulled toward opposite poles of
the spindle. Telophase- a nuclear envelope forms around each
set of chromosomes, the spindle disappears and the
chromosomes decondense.
Meiosis :

The ultimate goal of the process of meiosis is to reduce the

number of chromosomes by half to produce gametes. This
must occur prior to sexual reproduction. The final products of
meiosis, four daughter cells, each contain one chromatid from
each original homologous pair, for a total of two chromosomes.
Haploid- (n) one set of chromosomes-half diploid Diploid- (2n)
two sets of chromosomes Meiosis- A two phase nuclear
division that results in the eventual production of gametes with
half the normal number of chromosomes. Gamete - specialized
cell (egg or sperm) used in sexual reproduction containing half
the normal number of chromosomes of a somatic cell. Gene
Recombination-A natural process in which a nucleic acid
molecule (usually DNA but can be RNA) is broken and then
joined to a different molecule; a result of crossing-over.
Cellular differentiation

Cellular differentiation is the process in which a stem

cell alters from one type to a differentiated one[2][3] Usually, the
cell changes to a more specialized type. Differentiation
happens multiple times during the development of
a multicellular organism as it changes from a simple zygote to a
complex system of tissues and cell types. Differentiation
continues in adulthood as adult stem cells divide and create
fully differentiated daughter cells during tissue repair and during
normal cell turnover. Some differentiation occurs in response
to antigen exposure. Differentiation dramatically changes a
cell's size, shape, membrane potential, metabolic activity, and
responsiveness to signals. These changes are largely due to
highly controlled modifications in gene expression and are the
study of epigenetics. With a few exceptions, cellular
differentiation almost never involves a change in
the DNA sequence itself. Although metabolic composition does
get altered quite dramatically[4] where stem cells are
characterized by abundant metabolites with highly unsaturated
structures whose levels decrease upon differentiation. Thus,
different cells can have very different physical characteristics
despite having the same genome.
A specialized type of differentiation, known as terminal
differentiation, is of importance in some tissues, for example
vertebrate nervous system, striated muscle, epidermis and gut.
During terminal differentiation, a precursor cell formerly capable
of cell division, permanently leaves the cell cycle, dismantles
the cell cycle machinery and often expresses a range of genes
characteristic of the cell's final function (e.g. myosin and actin
for a muscle cell). Differentiation may continue to occur after
terminal differentiation if the capacity and functions of the cell
undergo further changes.
Among dividing cells, there are multiple levels of cell potency,
the cell's ability to differentiate into other cell types. A greater
potency indicates a larger number of cell types that can be
derived. A cell that can differentiate into all cell types, including
the placental tissue, is known as totipotent. In mammals, only
the zygote and subsequent blastomeres are totipotent, while in
plants, many differentiated cells can become totipotent with
simple laboratory techniques. A cell that can differentiate into
all cell types of the adult organism is known as pluripotent.
Such cells are called meristematic cells in higher plants
and embryonic stem cells in animals, though some groups
report the presence of adult pluripotent cells. Virally induced
expression of four transcription factors Oct4, Sox2, c-Myc,
and Klf4 (Yamanaka factors) is sufficient to create pluripotent
(iPS) cells from adult fibroblasts.[5] A multipotent cell is one that
can differentiate into multiple different, but closely related cell
types.[6] Oligopotent cells are more restricted than multipotent,
but can still differentiate into a few closely related cell types.
[6]
 Finally, unipotent cells can differentiate into only one cell
type, but are capable of self-renewal.[6] In cytopathology, the
level of cellular differentiation is used as a measure
of cancer progression. "Grade" is a marker of how differentiated
a cell in a tumor is.[7]