Name_________________________Period__________________ Bio H
Control of the Eukaryotic Cell Cycle - Prelab for cancer lab
https://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/eukaryotic-cell-cycle-and-cancer
The eukaryotic cell cycle is a sequence of events that ends in cell division.
There are checkpoints throughout the cell cycle that regulate (allow or forbid) progression from
one phase to the next—a process that usually works without errors. These checkpoints are
often controlled by proteins, called regulators.
When errors do occur (ie the regulators fail to do their job) , they can have catastrophic
consequences, including the development of cancer. WHY? Because cells progress through the
cycle unchecked, replicating indefinitely which leads to the formation of tumors.
PROCEDURE: Follow the instructions as you proceed through the Click and Learn and answer
the questions in the spaces below.
Choose: Start Click and Learn
Click on the “Background tab” on the right side
1. Compare/contrast the reasons that cell division is important for unicellular and
multicellular organisms
2. Provide an example of why cell division remains important to an adult organism even
after it is fully developed
3. Cells divide in response to specific molecular (chemical) signals.
a. Use vocabulary to describe the three different responses a cell might have
b. What is differentiation? Does differentiation always cause a cell to stop
dividing?
c. What is apoptosis and what is its purpose?
Name_________________________Period__________________ Bio H
To remain healthy, an organism must maintain the right number and type of cells. This is primarily
achieved through cell cycle regulation.
4.
What are “cell cycle regulators”?
5. Watch the video, on the villi in the intestine.
a. Where is the “blue cell” (placed), where/when does apoptosis occur?
6. Name a harmless result of too little and a harmless result of too much cell division
7. Now click on Cell Cycle Phases in the center purple circle inside the cell cycle. No
window will pop up, but the small window on the left will provide an overview of the
cell cycle phases. (NOTE the “given names” are NOT the names we use)
8. Scroll down within the overview window. What is the purpose of a checkpoint in the
cell cycle?
9. What is one potential outcome when errors occur in this highly regulated cell cycle
process?
Name_________________________Period__________________ Bio H
Click on Cell Cycle Regulators and Cancer in the purple circle within the Cell Cycle. Use the
information under Regulators overview in the window on the left to answer the questions
below.
10. What type of genes create proteins that stimulate the cell cycle?
11. What type of genes create proteins that suppress the cell cycle?
12. The most important cell cycle regulators are the ________________________________.
13. When cyclin dependent kinases (CDKs) are activated what happens to the cell cycle?
14. Each checkpoint has an “activator” and a “repressor”. Why not just let the cell go “the
whole way to the end of the cycle before repressing formation of a new cell?
15. Identify all locations and “job” of the p53 protein, CDK-cyclins, BRCA1
Stimulating Proteins
G1
S
G2
M
Inhibiting proteins