Author: Madison

Autophagy is the process by which cells consume their own organelles, proteins and other molecules.

Bacterial virulence factors are aspects of the bacterium that influence its interaction with host cells.

Chronic injury can affect the number, size and appearance of cells, depending on the type of injury and the cells affected. These changes can either help the cells resist injury by increasing their function, or put the cell in a diminished functional state that prevents cell death. The major changes are hypertrophy, hyperplasia, atrophy, metaplasia and dysplasia.

Cellular signalling can lead to differentiation, proliferation or other functions. There are many different types of cell signals, involving different signalling pathways and transcription factors, which the cell integrates to determine what it should do next.

DNA damage is almost constantly occurring, and requires proper repair of the damage in order to prevent apoptosis, senescence or cancer formation. The reliability of these DNA repair mechanisms depends on the cell type, the age of the cell and the environment it is situated in.

Like bacterial virulence factors, viral virulence factors help the virus spread, replicate or evade the immune system.

One unique feature of viruses is their ability to mutate, to evade the immune system or infect new hosts. Viruses can mutate through a few basic mechanisms: antigenic drift, antigenic shift, reassortment and recombination.

There are five key steps in viral replication, which vary slightly depending on the structure of the virus. These steps are attachment, entry into a cell, uncoating, replication and shedding.

Tumour suppressor genes act to inhibit cell proliferation and growth, with the goal of preventing tumours from developing. The major tumour suppressors are RB, TP53, APC, E-cadherin, CDKN2A, TGF-β, PTEN, VHL and STK11.

After a pathogen binds to a particular PRR, the phagocyte must undergo several changes to allow for microbial killing.