Carbon source influencesSaccharomyces cerevisiaeyeast cell survival strategies: quiescence or sporulation

Apicomplexan Energy Metabolism: Carbon Source Promiscuity and the Quiescence Hyperbole.

The nature of energy metabolism in apicomplexan parasites has been closely investigated in the recent years. Studies in Plasmodium spp. and Toxoplasma gondii in particular have revealed that these parasites are able to employ enzymes in non-traditional ways, while utilizing multiple anaplerotic routes into a canonical tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle to satisfy their energy requirements. Importan...

MicroRNAs 221 and 222 bypass quiescence and compromise cell survival.

MicroRNAs (miRNA) have tumor suppressive and oncogenic potential in human cancer, but whether and how miRNAs control cell cycle progression is not understood. To address this question, we carried out a comprehensive analysis of miRNA expression during serum stimulation of quiescent human cells. Time course analyses revealed that four miRNAs are up-regulated and >100 miRNAs are down-regulated, a...

The default state of the cell: Quiescence or proliferation?

There exists abundant evidence that mutations that change the function or expression of growth-regulatory genes can lead to progression to a cancerous phenotype, and the progressive accumulation of such changes as the underpinning of tumorigenesis forms the basis for the somatic mutation theory (SMT) of cancer [1]. At a molecular level, that model of tumorigenesis suggests that progression to a...

An Intracellular Polysaccharide That Serves as a Carbon and Energy Source for Sporulation

Stem cell quiescence.

Adult stem cells are maintained in a quiescent state but are able to exit quiescence and rapidly expand and differentiate in response to stress. The quiescent state appears to be necessary for preserving the self-renewal of stem cells and is a critical factor in the resistance of cancer stem cells (CSCs) to chemotherapy and targeted therapies. Limited knowledge about quiescence mechanisms has p...