Cell Cycle Materials And Methods

During their lifetime, especially when growing and dividing, cells go through various steps of the cell cycle. Knowledge of the individual steps of the cell cycle will help us understand the development of a variety of diseases better, including cancer, and also to design new drugs against it. New techniques for studying the molecular basis of these processes have recently been developed and are described in detail in this manual. A glossary helps the reader to cope with the complex cell cycle terminology.

This volume covers a broad range of cell types including cultured cell lines, primary cells, and various unicellular organisms such as fission yeast, budding yeast, parasite Leishmania amazonensis, and parasite Trypanosoma brucei. The chapters in this book are organized into four parts. Part One looks at a general overview of cell cycle control and synchronization. Part Two discusses techniques to synchronize mammalian cells to various cell cycle phases including mitotic sub-phases. Part Three covers synchronization of unicellular organisms and Part Four analyzes cell cycle progression. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Cutting-edge and thorough, Cell-Cycle Synchronization: Methods and Protocols is a valuable resource for both novice and expert scientists in this developing field.

Techniques in Cell Cycle Analysis.

The fundamental question of how cells grow and divide has perplexed biologists since the development of the cell theory in the mid-19th century, when it was recognized by Virchow and others that “all cells come from cells.” In recent years, considerable effort has been applied to the identification of the basic molecules and mechanisms that regulate the cell cycle in a number of different organisms. Such studies have led to the elucidation of the central paradigms that underpin eukaryotic cell cycle control, for which Lee Hartwell, Tim Hunt, and Paul Nurse were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology in 2001 in recognition of their seminal contributions to this field. The importance of understanding the fundamental mechanisms that modulate cell division has been reiterated by relatively recent discoveries of links between cell cycle control and DNA repair, growth, cellular metabolism, development, and cell death. This new phase of integrated cell cycle research provides further challenges and opportunities to the biological and medical worlds in applying these basic concepts to understanding the etiology of cancer and other proliferative diseases.

Cell cycle checkpoints control the fidelity and orderly progression of eukaryotic cell division. By controlling the orderly progression of critical cell cycle events such as DNA replication and chromosome segregation and ensuring proper repair of damaged DNA, cell cycle checkpoints function to ensure genome integrity. Mechanisms of checkpoint controls are not only the research focus of investigators interested in mechanisms that regulate the cell cycle, but are also the interests of researchers studying cancer development as it is increasingly clear that loss of cell cycle checkpoints, which leads to genomic instability as a result, is a hallmark of tumorigenesis. Cell Cycle Checkpoints: Methods and Protocols provides detailed descriptions of methodologies currently employed by researchers in the field, including those commonly used in the mammalian, yeast, C. elegans, Drosophila, and Xenopus model systems. Each chapter describes a specific technique or protocol, such as a method to induce cell cycle checkpoints in a particular model system, to synchronize a population of cells to allow observations of cell cycle progression, to identify genes involved in checkpoint regulation, and to study particular protein components of cell cycle checkpoint pathways. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular BiologyTM series format, chapters contain introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and notes on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and easily accessible, Cell Cycle Checkpoints: Methods and Protocols seeks to serve both professionals and novices with its well-honed methodologies in an effort to further our knowledge of this essential field.

This new edition explores innovative approaches and keystone methodologies reflecting the recent advances in the field of plant cell division that have enabled us to study this fascinating process in a quantitative manner, at high resolution both in space and time using cell biology, biochemistry, and molecular biology. After a review of the methods used to visualize the actin cytoskeleton during plant cell division, the book focuses first on methodology to address mitosis progression as a part of the cell cycle. It continues with sections on manipulation of cell division, quantification of cell division patterning, as well as imaging and quantifying plant cytokinesis. Written for the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and up-to-date, Plant Cell Division: Methods and Protocols, Second Edition serves as an ideal guide for researchers attempting to visualize, quantify, and modify cell division during cell cycle progression.

​ This volume brings together a unique collection of protocols that cover standard, novel, and specialized techniques. Cell Cycle Oscillators: Methods and Protocols guides readers through recent progress in the field from both holistic and reductionist perspectives, providing the latest developments in molecular biology techniques, biochemistry, and computational analysis used for studying oscillatory networks. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and cutting-edge, Cell Cycle Oscillators: Methods and Protocols will serve as an invaluable reference to gain further insight into the complex and incompletely understood processes that are involved in the cell cycle and its regulation by oscillatory networks.