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Related Concept Videos

Cell Size01:22

Cell Size

124.3K
Cell sizes vary widely among and within organisms. Bacterial cells range between 1-10 micrometers (μm)and are considerably smaller than most eukaryotic cells. The smallest bacteria are 0.1 μm in diameter—about a thousand times smaller than eukaryotic cells, which typically range from 10-100 μm.
Surface Area
Cells can take in nutrients and water via diffusion through the plasma membrane itself or through specific channels in the membrane. The area of the membrane surrounding...
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Cells Coordinate Growth and Proliferation02:36

Cells Coordinate Growth and Proliferation

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Cell size is a significant factor impacting cellular design, function, and fitness. There exists some internal coordination by which cells double their masses before division, thus, achieving homeostasis. Coordination between cell growth and proliferation depends on the checkpoints in between cell cycle phases. Loss of coordination or failure in the checkpoint mechanism can drive the cell to uncontrolled growth and loss of cellular function. Like dividing cells that coordinate cellular growth,...
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Enlargement of the Plasma Membrane01:22

Enlargement of the Plasma Membrane

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Cell division and enlargement are processes that require precise control. The control ensures that cell division cannot proceed unless the cell has grown to a specific size. A spherical, dividing cell requires an approximately 1.6X increase in its surface area to double its volume. The secretory pathway also has a significant role in cell membrane enlargement. Secretory vesicles that bud off from the Golgi apparatus and later fuse with the plasma membrane during exocytosis are a major source of...
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Subcellular Fractionation01:32

Subcellular Fractionation

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The homogenate obtained after cell lysis contains various membrane-bound organelles that can be further separated into pure fractions by subcellular fractionation. These isolates are used to study specific cellular components, analyze localized protein activity, and are even employed in diagnostics. Fractionation is typically achieved using centrifugation methods, the most common being density-gradient and differential centrifugation.
Differential Centrifugation
Differential centrifugation is...
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Cell Motility through Blebbing01:16

Cell Motility through Blebbing

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Blebs are a type of membrane protrusion formed by the internal hydrostatic pressure of the cytoplasm. Blebs are observed in several cell types, including fibroblasts, immune cells, and single-celled organisms like the amoeba. The primary function of blebs is cell locomotion and apoptosis, but they are also found during necrosis and cell division. The life cycle of a bleb comprises an initiation phase followed by the expansion and retraction phases.
Blebbing Through the Matrix
In multicellular...
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Assembly of Complex Microtubule Structures01:32

Assembly of Complex Microtubule Structures

2.3K
Complex microtubule structures are present in resting cells and in dividing cells. In resting cells, they are responsible for maintaining the cellular architecture, tracks for intracellular transport, positioning of organelles, assembly of cilia and flagella. They mediate the bipolar spindle assembly for chromosomal segregation and positioning of the cell division plate in dividing cells. The formation of microtubule complex structures depends on the cell type, cell stage, and cell function.
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 16, 2025

Probing Structural and Dynamic Properties of Trafficking Subcellular Nanostructures by Spatiotemporal Fluctuation Spectroscopy
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Probing Structural and Dynamic Properties of Trafficking Subcellular Nanostructures by Spatiotemporal Fluctuation Spectroscopy

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Scaling of Subcellular Structures.

Wallace F Marshall1

  • 1Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, California 94143, USA;

Annual Review of Cell and Developmental Biology
|July 1, 2020
PubMed
Summary

Cell organelle size and number increase with cell growth to meet metabolic needs. Mechanisms for this scaling, crucial for cancer diagnosis, remain largely unknown, suggesting diverse regulatory processes.

Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Cancer Biology
  • Cytopathology

Background:

  • Cellular growth necessitates increased organelle size and number to meet metabolic demands.
  • Abnormal organelle size is a key indicator in cancer diagnosis and cytopathology.
  • The precise mechanisms governing organelle size and number variation relative to cell size are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the mechanisms underlying organelle size and number regulation during cell growth.
  • To investigate how organelle scaling relates to cell size across different cell types.
  • To elucidate the potential roles of relative growth, active measurement, and genetic programs in organelle biogenesis.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative analysis of organelle size and number in relation to cell size.
Keywords:
cell sizemitochondrianucleusorganelle sizespindle

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  • Investigation of scaling principles, including relative growth.
  • Exploration of potential active measurement systems and genetic programming in organelle biosynthesis.

    • Main Results:

    • Organelle size and number generally increase with cell size to support metabolic requirements.
    • Observed variations in organelle scaling suggest multiple underlying regulatory mechanisms.
    • Some organelles exhibit size scaling consistent with relative growth processes.
    • Other organelles appear to have sizes determined by distinct measurement systems or genetic instructions.

    Conclusions:

    • Cellular growth involves coordinated adjustments in organelle size and number.
    • The regulation of organelle biogenesis is complex, involving both scaling and potentially set-point mechanisms.
    • Understanding these mechanisms is critical for interpreting cellular abnormalities, particularly in cancer.
    • Further research is needed to fully unravel the diverse strategies cells employ to maintain appropriate organelle homeostasis.