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Short Introduction to the Cell Cycle

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Cell Cycle Regulation and Differentiation in Cardiovascular and Neural Systems

Abstract

Molecular pathways that regulate cell growth and differentiation are now beginning to be understood. This is mainly due to the identification of molecules that orchestrate the cell cycle. Cyclins and the cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) are the major players in the control of cell cycle progression. Cyclins do not have enzymatic activity and CDKs are inactive without a partner cyclin. The CDKs regulate the function of multiple proteins involved in DNA replication and mitosis by phosphorylating them at specific regulatory sites, activating some and inhibiting others to coordinate their activities. In this way cyclin/CDK complexes coordinate an ordered passage from a cell cycle phase to the next one. Multiple levels of regulation of cyclin/CDK complexes are present in “cell machinery” to obtain a tight control of cell cycle progression. In this chapter we will address these items.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, College of Science and Technology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Antonio Giordano M.D.

  2. Department of Histology and Medical Embryology, University “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy

    Antonio Giordano M.D.

  3. Department of Human Pathology and Oncology, University of Siena, Siena, Italy

    Antonio Giordano M.D.

  4. Department Experimental Medicine, Second University of Naples, Via L. De Crecchio 7, 80138, Napoli, Italy

    Umberto Galderisi

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  1. Antonio Giordano M.D.
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Correspondence to Umberto Galderisi .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. College of Science & Technology, Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research, Temple University, N. 12th Street 1900, Philadelphia, 19122, USA

    Antonio Giordano

  2. Dipto. Medicina Sperimentale, Sezione di Biotecnologia e, Università Napoli Federico II, Via Costantinopoli 16, Napoli, 80138, Italy

    Umberto Galderisi

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Giordano, A., Galderisi, U. (2010). Short Introduction to the Cell Cycle. In: Giordano, A., Galderisi, U. (eds) Cell Cycle Regulation and Differentiation in Cardiovascular and Neural Systems. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-153-0_1

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