ABI Bioinformatics Guide 2024
  • INTRODUCTION
    • How to use the guide
  • MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
    • The Cell
      • Cells and Their Organelles
      • Cell Specialisation
      • Quiz 1
    • Biological Molecules
      • Carbohydrates
      • Lipids
      • Nucleic Acids (DNA and RNA)
      • Quiz 2
      • Proteins
      • Catalysis of Biological Reactions
      • Quiz 3
    • Information Flow in the Cell
      • DNA Replication
      • Gene Expression: Transcription
      • Gene Expression: RNA Processing
      • Quiz 4
      • Chromatin and Chromosomes
      • Regulation of Gene Expression
      • Quiz 5
      • The Genetic Code
      • Gene Expression: Translation
    • Cell Cycle and Cell Division
      • Quiz 6
    • Mutations and Variations
      • Point mutations
      • Genotype-Phenotype Interactions
      • Quiz 7
  • PROGRAMMING
    • Python for Genomics
    • R programming (optional)
  • STATISTICS: THEORY
    • Introduction to Probability
      • Conditional Probability
      • Independent Events
    • Random Variables
      • Independent, Dependent and Controlled Variables
    • Data distribution PMF, PDF, CDF
    • Mean, Variance of a Random Variable
    • Some Common Distributions
    • Exploratory Statistics: Mean, Median, Quantiles, Variance/SD
    • Data Visualization
    • Confidence Intervals
    • Comparison tests, p-value, z-score
    • Multiple test correction: Bonferroni, FDR
    • Regression & Correlation
    • Dimentionality Reduction
      • PCA (Principal Component Analysis)
      • t-SNE (t-Distributed Stochastic Neighbor Embedding)
      • UMAP (Uniform Manifold Approximation and Projection)
    • QUIZ
  • STATISTICS & PROGRAMMING
  • BIOINFORMATICS ALGORITHMS
    • Introduction
    • DNA strings and sequencing file formats
    • Read alignment: exact matching
    • Indexing before alignment
    • Read alignment: approximate matching
    • Global and local alignment
  • NGS DATA ANALYSIS & FUNCTIONAL GENOMICS
    • Experimental Techniques
      • Polymerase Chain Reaction
      • Sanger (first generation) Sequencing Technologies
      • Next (second) Generation Sequencing technologies
      • The third generation of sequencing technologies
    • The Linux Command-line
      • Connecting to the Server
      • The Linux Command-Line For Beginners
      • The Bash Terminal
    • File formats, alignment, and genomic features
      • FASTA & FASTQ file formats
      • Basic Unix Commands for Genomics
      • Sequences and Genomic Features Part 1
      • Sequences and Genomic Features Part 2: SAMtools
      • Sequences and Genomic Features Part 3: BEDtools
    • Genetic variations & variant calling
      • Genomic Variations
      • Alignment and variant detection: Practical
      • Integrative Genomics Viewer
      • Variant Calling with GATK
    • RNA Sequencing & Gene expression
      • Gene expression and how we measure it
      • Gene expression quantification and normalization
      • Explorative analysis of gene expression
      • Differential expression analysis with DESeq2
      • Functional enrichment analysis
    • Single-cell Sequencing and Data Analysis
      • scRNA-seq Data Analysis Workflow
      • scRNA-seq Data Visualization Methods
  • FINAL REMARKS
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  1. MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
  2. The Cell

Cell Specialisation

PreviousCells and Their OrganellesNextQuiz 1

Last updated 11 months ago

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In multicellular organisms, functions are typically divided between specialised cell types. Cells of similar origin working together are organised into tissues. Despite having the same genetic material, the cells of an organism acquire distinct structural and molecular characteristics that enable them to perform their specific role. This process is known as cellular differentiation. During differentiation, different genes are selectively switched on and off, leading to the development of specialised cell types.

To illustrate the structural diversity that cells can achieve through differentiation, let us take a look at several examples from hundreds of specialised cell types of the human organism.

The respiratory epithelium is a specialised tissue which lines the lung airways preventing the entry of pathogens and dust particles into the organism. Its predominant cell type is the ciliated cells. Ciliated cells are adapted to move mucus, a viscous fluid that traps pathogens and foreign particles, towards the pharynx. These elongated cells are characterised by the presence of numerous hair-like structures called cilia, which extend from their surface. The coordinated beating of cilia propels the mucus along the airways, clearing it from the lungs.

Another example of highly specialised cells is macrophages. Macrophages, a subtype of white blood cells, engulf and digest pathogens, such as bacteria, as well as dying cells. Macrophages are capable of moving towards their targets by extending long flexible processes called pseudopodia. Upon encountering a pathogen, a macrophage initiates phagocytosis, ingesting the invader into a vesicle for subsequent digestion.

Light microscopy image of lung epithelium. Goblet cells secrete mucus and ciliated cells propel the mucus by the beating of cilia Image source: OpenStax College - Anatomy & Physiology, Connexions Web site. http://cnx.org/content/col11496/1.6/, Jun 19, 2013., CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30148359
Light microscopy image of macrophage stretching pseudopodia to engulf two particles Image source: Obli - Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons., CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=635700