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Updated: Apr 4, 2026

Measuring Cell Cycle Progression Kinetics with Metabolic Labeling and Flow Cytometry
Published on: May 22, 2012
Cell cycle progression is an essential regulatory component of phospholipid metabolism and membrane homeostasis
Miguel Sanchez-Alvarez1, Qifeng Zhang2, Fabian Finger3
1Division of Cancer Biology, Chester Beatty Laboratories, Institute of Cancer Research, 237 Fulham Road, London SW3 6JB, UK miguel.sanchez@cnic.es.
Abstract:
We show that phospholipid anabolism does not occur uniformly during the metazoan cell cycle. Transition to S-phase is required for optimal mobilization of lipid precursors, synthesis of specific phospholipid species and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) homeostasis. Average changes observed in whole-cell phospholipid composition, and total ER lipid content, upon stimulation of cell growth can be explained by the cell cycle distribution of the population. TORC1 promotes phospholipid anabolism by slowing S/G2 progression. The cell cycle stage-specific nature of lipid biogenesis is dependent on p53. We propose that coupling lipid metabolism to cell cycle progression is a means by which cells have evolved to coordinate proliferation with cell and organelle growth.
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