The building block of life is the cell. In most eukaryotes or multicellular organisms, these cells divide to form more, ultimately resulting in the organism’s growth. For example, a tree grows in size, day by day, through a continuous process of somatic cell division. There are kinds of cell divisions – mitosis and meiosis. In mitosis, one parent cell divides to form 2 daughter cells, which further divides to form 4 daughter cells, and so on. Therefore, at any point in time, the chromosome number of the cells will be 2n. On the contrary, in meiosis, one parent cell divides to form 4 daughter cells, each having n number of chromosomes. The cytochalasin B cell cycle is a part of the mitotic cell cycle that has been of great help in biological and medical research works.
A brief introduction to the mitotic cell division process
Before jumping straight to the cytochalasin B cell cycle explanation, let’s quickly rewind the mitotic cell division. It is divided into four steps – prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase.
- In prophase, all the events that take place are related to the preparation of the cell for nuclear matter division. For example, the cytoplasm thickens, the atomic membrane gets dissolved, the centrosomes move apart, the ER and Golgi apparatus dissolves, etc.
- During metaphase, the chromosome thickens, and the strings shorten. Then they align themselves along with the equatorial plate.
iii. In the anaphase stage, the sister chromatids separate from the centromere and are pulled apart by the aster rays. These aster rays are nothing but microtubules that stretch from one centrosome to the other.
- After this, the state is called the telophase, where two chromosome matter has formed. All the prophase changes reverse, and everything is included as double in the cell.
Following these, a particular stage is there, also known as cytokinesis, where the cell membrane constructs from the middle of the parent cells and continues to form the division till the cells are separated into daughter cells. In the case of the plant cells, the cell wall plate is also included in addition to the cell membrane.
Definition and explanation of the cytochalasin B cell cycle
Fungi, the first group of eukaryotes, are both helpful and dangerous for plants and animals. Usually, a fungus secretes toxic chemicals that can easily permeate the cell membranes of the host and results in death. One such type of harmful chemical is cytochalasin B which can quickly enter the cells and prevent the formation of actin microtubules through the cytochalasin B cell cycle. These microtubules help align the shortened chromosomes and the equatorial plate via the centromere during metaphase.
In the cytochalasin B cell cycle explanation, the events occurring aren’t equivalent to those occurring during the normal cell division. For example:
- The cytoplasm cannot thicken itself due to the blocking toxins and absence of the actin microfilaments.
- The centromeres cannot align themselves correctly during the metaphase stage of the cell division.
iii. This toxin will reduce the formation of networks by inhibiting the interaction process between actin filaments.
Features of the cytochalasin B cell cycle
Looking at the cytochalasin B cell cycle features for a deeper understanding will be more beneficial and feasible.
- Studies revealed that the cytochalasin B toxin could inhibit the proliferation and growth of cancerous cells, like the HeLa cells.
- It will also enhance the apoptosis of the cancerous or carcinogenic cells. Apoptosis is termed as a series of steps involved in programmed cell death.
- The cytochalasin B cell cycle feature explains the inhibition of S-phase DNA replication and the formation of the sister chromosomes. It can help in stopping the proliferation of cancerous and mutating cells.
- Another feature of the cytochalasin B toxin is the induction of caspase production. It helps enhance the rate of apoptosis of the cells by dismantling the cell membrane, cytoskeleton, and more.
Applications of studying the cytochalasin B cell cycle
Owing to the inhibitory features of the cytochalasin B cell cycle, it is used in the studies of several biological processes. For example:
- It helps study how the actin filaments undergo the polymerization reactions, and the network grows.
- With the help of cytochalasin B, it is possible to study the cell’s condition in the S phase, metaphase, and cytokinesis.
iii. Since it contributes to the inhibition of the glucose transport processes, it is possible to study all the events once the transportation is stopped.
- The cytochalasin B helps in cloning by thinning the cytoplasm in the oocytes and easing the DNA extraction process.
- This chemical shows inhibitory effects on the growth and differentiation of many bacteria, which helps professionals study the cell process.
Conclusion
The cytochalasin B cell cycle plays a crucial role in deciding the performance of several cells and prokaryotic organisms. As the concept of the use of cytochalasin B is still afresh in the biological industry, more research works and studies are going on. For example, several studies have been conducted to study erythrocyte formation, growth of the cancerous cells, multiplication of bacterium, and more, using the cytochalasin B toxin. It will also help in the study of cloning since the chemical helps in the DNA extraction process from the oocyte cells. Therefore, it will help understand the behaviour of cancerous cells and the natural apoptosis, which can reduce the chances of cancer growth.