#Question id: 1383
#Unit 4. Cell Communication and Cell Signaling
Match the following correctly
#Question id: 1384
#Unit 4. Cell Communication and Cell Signaling
Mutations that block expression of the E-cadherin gene are thought to be an important step in metastasis. To better understand how loss of E-cadherin contributes to metastasis, scientists created two cell lines that differed in their expression of E-cadherin. One cell line expressed normal E-cadherin, but at 10% of the usual levels. The other cell line expressed normal E-cadherin at the usual levels, and also, at high levels a mutant form that included the cytoplasmic domain but lacked the rest of the protein. Both cell lines exhibited strongly reduced cell adhesion in culture. However, only the cell line with reduced expression of normal E-cadherin metastasized when introduced into mice.
Which of the following hypotheses is most consistent with the observations on cell adhesion and metastasis in these cell lines?
#Question id: 1385
#Unit 4. Cell Communication and Cell Signaling
The ability of a population of fibroblasts to migrate along the surface of a tissue culture dish depends on adhesion between the cell surface and the extracellular matrix molecules coating the dish. The dish is coated with laminin, and the only cell-surface protein capable of binding laminin is a cell-adhesion protein called an integrin. Integrins are integral plasma-membrane proteins that function as heterodimers. Under these conditions the rate at which a fibroblast can migrate along the laminin coated culture dish is proportional to the strength of adhesion between the cell and the laminin substrate. The table below lists the rate of cell migration observed for fibroblasts genetically engineered to generate the indicated phenotypes.
Which of the following is the most likely explanation for failure of overexpression of the integrin alpha subunit to alter the rate of fibroblast migration?
#Question id: 1386
#Unit 4. Cell Communication and Cell Signaling
The ability of a population of fibroblasts to migrate along the surface of a tissue culture dish depends on adhesion between the cell surface and the extracellular matrix molecules coating the dish. The dish is coated with laminin, and the only cell-surface protein capable of binding laminin is a cell-adhesion protein called an integrin. Integrins are integral plasma-membrane proteins that function as heterodimers. Under these conditions the rate at which a fibroblast can migrate along the laminin coated culture dish is proportional to the strength of adhesion between the cell and the laminin substrate. The table below lists the rate of cell migration observed for fibroblasts genetically engineered to generate the indicated phenotypes. One explanation for the effect of overexpression of the cytoplasmic domain of the integrin beta subunit is that this domain normally functions to bind a cytoplasmic factor necessary for integrin function. Which of the following would be the most informative experiment to identify the cytoplasmic factor?
#Question id: 1387
#Unit 4. Cell Communication and Cell Signaling
The ability of a population of fibroblasts to migrate along the surface of a tissue culture dish depends on adhesion between the cell surface and the extracellular matrix molecules coating the dish. The dish is coated with laminin, and the only cell-surface protein capable of binding laminin is a cell-adhesion protein called an integrin. Integrins are integral plasma-membrane proteins that function as heterodimers. Under these conditions the rate at which a fibroblast can migrate along the laminin coated culture dish is proportional to the strength of adhesion between the cell and the laminin substrate. The table below lists the rate of cell migration observed for fibroblasts genetically engineered to generate the indicated phenotypes. Microinjection into the cytoplasm of a wild. type cell of a solution of a synthetic peptide possessing the same sequence as the integrin beta subunit cytoplasmic domain would be expected to yield an average fibroblast-cell migration rat
|
Fibroblast
Phenotype |
Level of
Integrin Heterodimer at the Cell Surface (percent of wild type) |
Rate of
Cell Migration (pm/min) |
|
1. Wild type |
100 |
2 |
|
2.
Overexpression of the wild-type integrin alpha subunit |
104 |
2 |
|
3. Overexpression
of an integrin beta subunit lacking the cytoplasmic domain |
96 |
0.6 |
|
4.
Overexpression of the soluble cytoplasmic domain of an integrin beta subunit |
98 |
0.6 |
|
5. Absence of
the integrin alpha subunit |
Less than 1 |
0.05 |
#Question id: 1388
#Unit 4. Cell Communication and Cell Signaling
When Lucifer yellow, a small dye, is injected into a neuron of the retina, neighboring neurons become rapidly labeled. If the retina is incubated in dopamine prior to Lucifer yellow injection, only the injected neuron becomes labeled. These findings suggest which of the following?
I. Neurons of the retina communicate via gap junctions.
II. Dopamine is transferred between cells via gap junctions.
III. Dopamine decreases the permeability of gap junctions.