1.

1- IB Cell Biology
Cell Introduction
Profesora Paula Lipko
profesora.paula.2020@gmail.com
1-CELL BIOLOGY

1.1 CELL INTRODUCTION 10-6

1.2 CELL STRUCTURE 10-6
1.3 MEMBRANE STRUCTURE10-6
1.4 MEMBRANE TRANSPORT
1.5 ORIGIN OF CELLS
1.6 CELL DIVISION
1.1 CELL INTRODUCTION

- Cell theory
- Functions of life
- Magnification
- Emergent properties
- Cell differentiation
- Stem Cells
- Stem Cell Therapy and ethics of therapeutic os stem cells
- Microscopes
- Cell Scale
1.2 CELL STRUCTURE

- Prokaryotic Cells
- Eukaryotic Cells
- Organelles
- Electron Microscopy
- Cell Micrographs
- Prokaryote Structure
- Eukaryote Structure
- Types of cells
- Types of Bacteria
- Pro vs Euka
- Animal vs Plant cell
1.3 MEMBRANE STRUCTURE

- Phospholipid bilayer
- Membrane proteins
- Cholesterol
- Fluid- Mosaic Model
- Membrane models
- Phospholipids
1.4 MEMBRANE TRANSPORT

- Types of Transport
- Simple Diffusion
- Osmosis
- Osmolarity
- Facilitated Diffusion
- Active Transport
- Vesicular Transport
- Bulk Transport
1.5 ORIGIN OF CELLS

- Non-living synthesis
- Biogénesis
- Endosymbiosis
- Origins of life
- RNA world theory
1.6 CELL DIVISION

- Cell cycle
- Interphase
- DNA supercoiling
- Mitosis
- Cytokinesis
- Mitotic Index
- Cyclins
- Cancer Development
- Smoking and Cancer
1.1 CELL INTRODUCTION

- Cell theory
- Functions of life
- Magnification
- Emergent properties
- Cell differentiation
- Stem Cells
- Stem Cell Therapy and ethics of therapeutic os stem cells
- Microscopes
- Cell Scale
Introducing the Cells

Cells consist of cytoplasm, enclosed in a plasma membrane. In plant and animal cells
there is usually a nucleus that contains genes.
Cell theory: living organisms are composed of cells

1. All living things are composed of cells (or cell products)

2. The cell is the smallest unit of life

3. Cells only arise from pre-existing cells

Exceptions to the cell theory
There are some tissues and organisms that are not made of typical cells.

Challenges the idea that living

structures are composed of discrete
Challenges the idea that larger
cells
organisms are always made of
many microscopic cells
Challenges the idea that cells always
function as autonomous units

Despite these discrepancies there is still a strong overall trend for living organisms to be
composed of cells, so the cell theory has not been abandoned.
Unicellular and multicellular organisms

Functions of life

all living things carry out 7 functions integral to survival.

Functions of life

Metabolism – Living things undertake essential chemical reactions

Reproduction – Living things produce offspring, either sexually or asexually

Sensitivity/ Response – Living things are responsive to internal and external stimuli

Homeostasis – Living things maintain a stable internal environment

Excretion – Living things exhibit the removal of waste products

Nutrition – Living things exchange materials and gases with the environment

Growth – Living things can move and change shape or size

Paramecium (heterotroph), Scenedesmus (autotroph)

As unicellular organisms are composed of a single cell, this cell must be able to carry out
all the life functions
Multicellular organisms

As a cells grows larger its surface area to volume ratio becomes smaller.

The rate at which materials enter or leave a cells depends on the surface area of the cells.

However, the rate at which materials are used or produced depends on the volume.

A cell that become too large may not be able to take in essential materials or excrete waste substances
quickly enough.

Large organisms are therefore multicellular- they consists of many cells.

Being multicellular has another advantage. It allows division of labour, different groups of cells
(tissues) become specialized for different functions by process of differentiation.
Surface area to volume ratio is important in the limitation of cell size

Cells need to produce chemical energy (via metabolism) to survive and this requires
the exchange of materials with the environment

The rate of metabolism of a cell is a function of its mass / volume (larger cells need more
energy to sustain essential functions)

The rate of material exchange is a function of its surface area (large membrane surface
equates to more material movement)
As a cell grows, volume increases faster than surface area , leading to a decreased
SA:Vol ratio

If metabolic rate exceeds the rate of exchange of vital materials and wastes (low SA:Vol
ratio), the cell will eventually die

Hence growing cells tend to divide and remain small in order to maintain a high SA:Vol
ratio suitable for survival
Increasing SA:Vol Ratio

Cells and tissues that are specialised for gas or material exchanges will increase their surface area to optimise
material transfer

Intestinal tissue of the digestive tract may form a ruffled structure (villi) to increase the surface area of the
inner lining

Alveoli within the lungs have membranous extensions called microvilli, which function to increase the total
membrane surface
Magnification

Calculation of Magnification:

To calculate the linear magnification of a drawing or image, the following equation should
be used:

Magnification = Image size (with ruler) ÷ Actual size (according to scale bar)
Emergent Properties

Multicellular organisms have properties that emerge from the interaction of their cellular
components.

Emergent properties arise when the interaction of individual component produce new
functions.

"The whole is greater than the sum of its parts” – Aristotle

In multicellular organisms:

Cells may be grouped together to form tissues

Organs are then formed from the functional grouping of multiple tissues

Organs that interact may form organ systems capable of carrying out specific body
functions

Organ systems collectively carry out the life functions of the complete organism
Differentiation

An organism's entire set of genes its genome. In a multicellular organism each cell has the
full genome, so it has the instructions to develop into any type of cell. During
differentiation a cell uses only the genes that it needs to follow its pathways of
development. Other genes are unused. For example, the genes for making hemoglobin are
only expressed in developing red blood cells. Once a pathway of development has begun
in cell, it is usually fixed and the cell cannot change to different pathways. The cell is said
to be ‘committed’.
Cell Differentiation

• Specialised tissues can develop by cell differentiation in multicellular organisms

• Differentiation involves the expression of some genes and not others in a cell’s genome
Differentiation is the process during development whereby newly formed cells become more
specialised and distinct from one another as they mature

All cells of an organism share an identical genome – each cell contains the entire set of genetic
instructions for that organism

The activation of different instructions (genes) within a given cell by chemical signals will cause
it to differentiate
Gene Packaging

Within the nucleus of a eukaryotic cell, DNA is packaged with proteins to form chromatin

Active genes are usually packaged in an expanded form called euchromatin that is accessible to transcriptional machinery

Inactive genes are typically packaged in a more condensed form called heterochromatin (saves space, not transcribed)

Differentiated cells will have different regions of DNA packaged as euchromatin and heterochromatin according to their specific
function
Stem Cells

The capacity of stem cells to divide and differentiate along different pathways is necessary
in embryonic development and also makes stem cells suitable for therapeutic uses.

When a cell differentiates and becomes specialised, it loses its capacity to form alternative
cell types

Stem cells are unspecialised cells that have two key qualities:

1. Self Renewal – They can continuously divide and replicate

2. Potency – They have the capacity to differentiate into specialised cell types
Types of Stem Cells

There are four main types of stem cells present at various

stages of human development:

Totipotent – Can form any cell type, as well as extra-

embryonic (placental) tissue (e.g. zygote)

Pluripotent – Can form any cell type (e.g. embryonic stem

cells)

Multipotent – Can differentiate into a number of closely

related cell types (e.g. haematopoeitic adult stem cells)

Unipotent – Can not differentiate, but are capable of self

renewal (e.g. progenitor cells, muscle stem cells)
Uses of Stem Cells

Stem cells are necessary for embryonic development as they are an undifferentiated cell source from which all other
cell types may be derived

Cell types that are not capable of self-renewal (e.g. amitotic nerve tissues) are considered to be non-stem cells

As these tissues cannot be regenerated or replaced, stem cells have become a viable therapeutic option when these
tissues become damaged
Stem Cell Therapy

Stem cells can be used to replace damaged or diseased cells with healthy, functioning ones

This process requires:

The use of biochemical solutions to trigger the differentiation of stem cells into the desired cell type

Surgical implantation of cells into the patient’s own tissue

Suppression of host immune system to prevent rejection of cells (if stem cells are from foreign
source)

Careful monitoring of new cells to ensure they do not become cancerous

Examples of Stem Cell Therapy

Leukemia: Bone marrow transplants for cancer patients who are immunocompromised as
a result of chemotherapy

Paraplegia: Repair damage caused by spinal injuries to enable paralysed victims to

regain movement

Diabetes: Replace non-functioning islet cells with those capable of producing insulin in
type I diabetics

Burn victims: Graft new skin cells to replace damaged tissue

Stargardt’s Disease, is a genetic disease that develops in children between the ages of 6 to 12.
Most cases are due to s recessive mutation of gene called ABCA4

An inherited form of juvenile macular degeneration that causes progressive vision loss to the
point of blindness

Caused by a gene mutation that impairs energy transport in retinal photoreceptor cells, causing
them to degenerate

Treated by replacing dead cells in the retina with functioning ones derived from stem cells
Ethics of therapeutic use of stem cells

Ethics are moral principles that allow us to decide whether something is morally right or
wrong. Scientists should always consider the ethics of the research and its consequences
before doing it.

The main argument in favour of therapeutic use of stem cells is that the health and quality
of life of patients suffering from otherwise incurable conditions may be greatly improved.
Ethical arguments against stem cells therapies depend on the source of the stem cells.
There are few objections to use of an adult's own stem cells or cells from and adult
volunteer.

Newborn babies cannot give informed consent for stem cells to be harvested from their
umbilical cord, but parental consent is given and the cells are stored in case they are
needed during the baby’s subsequent life, with semms objectionable.
However, the ethical issues concerning stem cells taken from specially created embryos
are more controversial. Some argue that an embryo is an human life even the earliest stage
and if the embryo dies result of the procedure it is immoral, because a life has been ended
and benefits from therapies using embryonic stem cells do not justify the taking of a life.
There a several counter-arguments:

-early stage embryos are little more than balls of cells that have yet to develop the essential features of
human life.

-early stage embryos lack a nervous system so do not feel pain or suffer in other ways during stem cell
procedures.

-if embryos are produced deliberately no individual that would otherwise have had the chance of living is
denied the chance of life.

-large number of embryos produced by IVF are never implanted and don't get the chance of life; rather than
kill these embryos it is better to use stem cells from them to treat diseases and save lives.
Review: the evolution of multicellular organisms allowed cell specialisation and cell
replacement

■ According to the cell theory, living organisms are composed of cells

■ Organisms consisting of only one cell carry out all the functions of life in that cell
■ Surface area to volume ratio is important in the limitation of cell size
■ Multicellular organisms have properties that emerge from the interaction of their
cellular components
■ Specialised tissues can develop by cell differentiation in multicellular organisms
■ Differentiation involves the expression of some genes and not others in a cell’s genome
■ The capacity of stem cells to divide and differentiate along different pathways is
necessary in embryonic development and also makes stem cells suitable for
therapeutic uses
profesora.paula.2020@gmail.com