Cell growth and the cell cycle: New insights about persistent questions

Abstract

Before a cell divides into two daughter cells, it typically doubles not only its DNA, but also its mass. Numerous studies in cells ranging from yeast to mammals have shown that cellular growth, stimulated by nutrients and/or growth factor signaling, is a prerequisite for cell cycle progression in most types of cells. The textbook view of growth‐regulated cell cycles is that growth signaling activates the transcription of G1 Cyclin genes to induce cell proliferation, and also stimulates anabolic metabolism and cell growth in parallel. However, genetic knockout tests in model organisms indicate that this is not the whole story, and new studies show that additional, “smarter” mechanisms help to coordinate the cell cycle with growth itself. Here we summarize recent advances in this field, and discuss current models in which growth signaling regulates cell proliferation by targeting core cell cycle regulators via non‐transcriptional mechanisms.

Distinct effects of CDK8 module subunits on cellular growth and proliferation inDrosophila

“…Cellular growth is indispensable for cell-cycle progression across various cell types, but the intricate molecular mechanisms bridging these fundamental cellular processes remain not fully elucidated (66). We observed that reducing CDK8 or CycC in wing discs increased the S-phase cell population, and ultimately leading to more but smaller cells in adult wings (38).…”

The Role and Mechanism of Retinol and Its Transformation Product, Retinoic Acid, in Modulating Oxidative Stress-Induced Damage to the Duck Intestinal Epithelial Barrier In Vitro

“…KEGG pathway enrichment analysis results showed that high-concentration retinoic acid treatment (TG1) specifically activated the cell cycle, ferroptosis, glycine, serine and threonine metabolism, and other signaling pathways. In addition to the glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism mentioned above and the cell activity-related pathways, promoting the cell cycle [50] and ferroptosis resistance [51] are also important ways to promote cell proliferation and improve cell vitality.…”

The G1/S transition in mammalian stem cellsin vivois autonomously regulated by cell size

“…In unicellular free-living eukaryotes, cell growth is largely limited by nutrient availability, while dedicated cell-autonomous mechanisms sense cell size and transmit this signal to control division. [12][13][14] For multicellular organisms, in order to maintain tissue architecture and sustain the proper distribution of cell types, both cell growth and division processes are thought to be controlled extrinsically by extracellular signals. 13,15 However, it is unclear how these signals are linked within a single cell to coordinate its growth and division to maintain a constant cell size.…”

“…[12][13][14] For multicellular organisms, in order to maintain tissue architecture and sustain the proper distribution of cell types, both cell growth and division processes are thought to be controlled extrinsically by extracellular signals. 13,15 However, it is unclear how these signals are linked within a single cell to coordinate its growth and division to maintain a constant cell size. In adult stem cells that continually grow and divide, cell size affects critical stem cell functions like niche interactions, fate-specification, and tissue regeneration capacity.…”