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Question 1
Correct
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With regards to the Na+/K+ ATPase, which one of the following is correct?
Your Answer: 3 Na+ released into the extracellular fluid
Explanation:Na+/K+ pump or sodium–potassium pump is an enzyme found in the plasma membrane. This pumping is active (i.e. it uses energy from ATP) and is important for cell physiology. Its simple function is to pump 3 sodium ions out for every 2 potassium ions taken in and since they both have equal ionic charges, this creates a electrochemical gradient between a cell and its exterior.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Cell Biology
- Medicine
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Question 2
Correct
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Mitosis is the process of cell division which culminates in cell chromosomes which are:
Your Answer: Diploid
Explanation:Mitosis is a part of the cell cycle when replicated chromosomes are separated into two new diploid nuclei.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Cell Biology
- Medicine
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Question 3
Correct
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The free radical most abundantly formed by the immune system is:
Your Answer: Hydroxyl radical
Explanation:Neutrophil and macrophage phagocytosis stimulates various cellular processes including the respiratory burst whereby increased cellular oxygen uptake results in the production of the potent oxidant bactericidal agents, hypochlorous acid and hydroxyl radical.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Cell Biology
- Medicine
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Question 4
Correct
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Which intercellular connections are responsible for fastening the cells to one another?
Your Answer: Hemidesmosomes, zonula adherens & desmosomes
Explanation:There are three major types of cell junction:Adherens junctions, desmosomes and hemidesmosomes (anchoring junctions),Gap junctions (communicating junction) &Tight junctions (occluding junctions)
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Cell Biology
- Medicine
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Question 5
Incorrect
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Question 6
Incorrect
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Cyclic AMP activates the following enzyme
Your Answer: Adenylyl cyclase
Correct Answer: Protein Kinase A
Explanation:Cyclic AMP works by activating protein kinase A (PKA, or cAMP-dependent protein kinase). Protein kinase A can also phosphorylate specific proteins that bind to promoter regions of DNA, causing increases in transcription.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Cell Biology
- Medicine
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Question 7
Incorrect
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In which organelle is the intrinsic apoptotic pathway initiated?
Your Answer: Lysosome
Correct Answer: Mitochondria
Explanation:Apoptosis is a programmed form of cell death involving the degradation of cellular constituents by a group of cysteine proteases called caspases. The caspases can be activated through either the intrinsic (mitochondrial mediated) or extrinsic (death receptor mediated) apoptotic pathways.
The intrinsic apoptotic pathway, also known as the mitochondrial pathway, is primarily initiated within the mitochondria. This pathway is activated in response to various internal stimuli, such as DNA damage, oxidative stress, and other cellular stresses.
When the intrinsic pathway is triggered, several events occur in the mitochondria:
- Release of cytochrome c: Cytochrome c is released from the mitochondrial intermembrane space into the cytoplasm.
- Formation of the apoptosome: Cytochrome c in the cytoplasm binds to apoptotic protease activating factor-1 (Apaf-1) and procaspase-9, forming a complex known as the apoptosome.
- Activation of caspase-9: The apoptosome activates caspase-9, an initiator caspase.
- Caspase cascade: Activated caspase-9 then activates executioner caspases, such as caspase-3, leading to the execution phase of apoptosis, which results in the orderly dismantling of the cell.
The mitochondria play a crucial role in this pathway by regulating the release of pro-apoptotic factors that are essential for the activation of downstream apoptotic processes.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Cell Biology
- Medicine
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Question 8
Correct
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What is the function of gap junctions?
Your Answer: Diffusion of small molecules between neighbouring cells
Explanation:Gap junctions are a specialized intercellular connection between a multitude of cell-types. They directly connect the cytoplasm of two cells, which allows various molecules, ions and electrical impulses to directly pass through a regulated gate between cells.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Cell Biology
- Medicine
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Question 9
Incorrect
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Which is true of the citric acid cycle?
Your Answer: Is the final common pathway for the reduction of fats, amino acids and carbohydrates
Correct Answer: Involves a series of reactions where oxaloacetate is regenerated
Explanation:The cycle consumes acetate (in the form of acetyl-CoA) and water, reduces NAD+ to NADH, and produces carbon dioxide as a waste by-product. The NADH generated by the citric acid cycle is fed into the oxidative phosphorylation (electron transport) pathway. At the end of each cycle, the four-carbon oxaloacetate has been regenerated, and the cycle continues. The net result of these two closely linked pathways is the oxidation of nutrients to produce usable chemical energy in the form of ATP. Acetyl-CoA, is the starting point for the citric acid cycle and in eukaryotic cells, the citric acid cycle occurs in the matrix of the mitochondrion. Though the Krebs cycle does not directly require oxygen, it can only take place when oxygen is present because it relies on by-products and is therefore an aerobic process.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Cell Biology
- Medicine
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Question 10
Incorrect
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The complete oxidation of 1 molecule of glucose to CO2 and H20 produces a total of __ATP.
Your Answer: 46
Correct Answer: 38
Explanation:Textbooks often state that 38 ATP molecules can be made per oxidised glucose molecule during cellular respiration (2 from glycolysis, 2 from the Krebs cycle, and about 34 from the electron transport system). However, this maximum yield is never quite reached because of losses due to leaky membranes as well as the cost of moving pyruvate and ADP into the mitochondrial matrix, and current estimates range around 29 to 30 ATP per glucose.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Cell Biology
- Medicine
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Question 11
Correct
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The role of the hemidesmosome is?
Your Answer: Attaches cells to underlying basal lamina
Explanation:Hemidesmosomes connect the basal surface of epithelial cells via intermediate filaments to the underlying basal lamina. The transmembrane proteins of hemidesmosomes are not cadherins, but another type of protein called integrin.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Cell Biology
- Medicine
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Question 12
Incorrect
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Question 13
Incorrect
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Which of the following statements is most suitable to describe necrosis?
Your Answer: Shrinking of cytoplasm and condensation of nucleus.
Correct Answer: Significant inflammatory response
Explanation:Necrosis is the death of most or all of the cells in an organ or tissue due to disease, injury, or failure of the blood supply. Cellular death due to necrosis does not follow the (regulated) apoptotic signal transduction pathway, but rather various receptors are activated, and result in the loss of cell membrane integrity and an uncontrolled release of products of cell death into the extracellular space. This initiates in the surrounding tissue an inflammatory response which attracts leukocytes and nearby phagocytes which eliminate the dead cells by phagocytosis.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Cell Biology
- Medicine
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Question 14
Incorrect
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The cell membrane:
Your Answer: Is an impermeable membrane
Correct Answer: Is a bilayer of amphipathic lipids
Explanation:The cell membrane consists of a bilayer of amphipathic lipids with embedded proteins. The basic function of the cell membrane is to protect the cell from its surroundings. It is selectively permeable to ions and organic molecules. The entire membrane is held together via non-covalent interaction of hydrophobic tails, however the structure is quite fluid and not fixed rigidly in place. Membranes are typically 7.5–10 nm in thickness and typically have a large content of proteins, around 50% of membrane volume.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Cell Biology
- Medicine
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Question 15
Incorrect
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What is the function of the pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 family of proteins, Bax and Bak?
Your Answer: Stimulates the intracellular release of lysosomal contents
Correct Answer: Form permissive pores in the mitochondrial membrane
Explanation:The pro-apoptotic proteins in the BCL-2 family, including Bax and Bak, normally act on the mitochondrial membrane to promote permeabilization and release of cytochrome C and ROS, that are important signals in the apoptosis cascade. Growing evidence suggests that activated BAX and/or Bak form an oligomeric pore, MAC in the mitochondrial outer membrane. This results in the release of cytochrome c and other pro-apoptotic factors from the mitochondria, often referred to as mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization, leading to activation of caspases.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Cell Biology
- Medicine
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Question 16
Incorrect
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Which ion channel is a dimer?
Your Answer: Aquaporin
Correct Answer: Cl- channel
Explanation:A dimer is a chemical structure formed from two similar sub-units. Chloride channels or exchangers are composed of two similar subunits—a dimer—each subunit containing one pore.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Cell Biology
- Medicine
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Question 17
Correct
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The formation of superoxide is catalysed by which enzyme?
Your Answer: NADPH oxidase
Explanation:Superoxide is biologically toxic and is deployed by the immune system to kill invading microorganisms. In phagocytes, superoxide is produced in large quantities by the enzyme NADPH oxidase for use in oxygen-dependent killing mechanisms of invading pathogens.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Cell Biology
- Medicine
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Question 18
Incorrect
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Question 19
Incorrect
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With regards to the cell cycle, which phase represents period of cell growth that divides the end of DNA synthesis and the beginning of somatic cell division?
Your Answer: Metaphase
Correct Answer: Gap 2
Explanation:Interphase is divided into three phases: G1 (first gap), S (synthesis), and G2 (second gap). During all three parts of interphase, the cell grows by producing proteins and cytoplasmic organelles. However, chromosomes are replicated only during the S phase. Thus, a cell grows (G1), continues to grow as it duplicates its chromosomes (S), grows more and prepares for mitosis (G2), and finally divides (M) before restarting the cycle.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Cell Biology
- Medicine
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Question 20
Incorrect
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Which one of the following is able to move across cell membranes by passive diffusion?
Your Answer: Glucose
Correct Answer: CO2
Explanation:The cell membrane is permeable to water molecules and a few other small, uncharged, molecules like oxygen (O2) and carbon dioxide (CO2). Larger molecules like glucose or charged ions are unable to cross passively.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Cell Biology
- Medicine
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Question 21
Incorrect
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With regards to the function of the p53 protein produced by the p53 gene, which of the following statements is incorrect?
Your Answer: It triggers apoptosis
Correct Answer: It permits repair of mutations and other defects in RNA
Explanation:The p53 protein is a crucial tumor suppressor and plays several key roles in maintaining cellular integrity:
- Nuclear transcription factor: p53 is a nuclear transcription factor that regulates the expression of various genes involved in cell cycle control, DNA repair, apoptosis, and senescence.
- DNA repair: p53 permits repair of mutations and other defects in DNA (not RNA). It activates the transcription of genes involved in DNA repair mechanisms, allowing the cell to correct errors before proceeding with the cell cycle.
- Cell cycle regulation: p53 can induce the expression of p21, a protein that inhibits cyclin-dependent kinases, thereby halting the cell cycle at the G1/S checkpoint to allow time for DNA repair or to trigger apoptosis if the damage is irreparable. Mutations in p53 may fail to halt the cell cycle, allowing mutations to persist and potentially leading to cancer.
- Apoptosis: If DNA damage is extensive and cannot be repaired, p53 triggers apoptosis to prevent the propagation of damaged cells.
- Suppression of proto-oncogenes: p53 indirectly contributes to the suppression of proto-oncogenes by preventing the proliferation of cells with damaged DNA, thereby reducing the risk of oncogenic transformation.
Given these functions, the statement that p53 “permits repair of mutations and other defects in RNA” is incorrect, as p53 is primarily involved in the repair of DNA, not RNA.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Cell Biology
- Medicine
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Question 22
Correct
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Cell membrane proteins may act as:
Your Answer: All of the options
Explanation:Membrane proteins perform a variety of functions including:Membrane receptor proteins relay or carry signals between the cell’s internal and external environments.Transport proteins move molecules and ions (ionic channels) across the membrane. Membrane enzymes may have many activities, such as oxidoreductase, transferase or hydrolase andCell adhesion molecules
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Cell Biology
- Medicine
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Question 23
Incorrect
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Selectins
Your Answer: Allow the passage of solute between 2 adjacent cells
Correct Answer: Interact with carbohydrate ligands or mucin complexes on leucocytes and endothelial cells
Explanation:Selectins are involved in constitutive lymphocyte homing, and in chronic and acute inflammation processes, including post-ischemic inflammation. Each selectin has a carbohydrate recognition domain that mediates binding to specific glycans on apposing cells.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Cell Biology
- Medicine
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Question 24
Incorrect
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Hydroxyl radicals are broken down by which of the following substance?
Your Answer: Hydroxyl reductase
Correct Answer: Antioxidants
Explanation:Unlike superoxide, which can be detoxified by superoxide dismutase, the hydroxyl radical cannot be eliminated by an enzymatic reaction but it is believed can be counteracted by antioxidants.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Cell Biology
- Medicine
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Question 25
Incorrect
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Microfilaments exist in:
Your Answer: Muscle cells
Correct Answer: All of the options
Explanation:Microfilaments, also called actin filaments, are filamentous structures in the cytoplasm of cells and form part of the cytoskeleton.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Cell Biology
- Medicine
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Question 26
Incorrect
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Regarding integrins, which option is false?
Your Answer: Principally bind to ECM components such as fibrinogen, elastase and laminin
Correct Answer: Play no role in cell signalling.
Explanation:Integrins are transmembrane receptors that facilitate cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) adhesion. Upon ligand binding, integrins activate signal transduction pathways that mediate cellular signals such as regulation of the cell cycle, organization of the intracellular cytoskeleton, and movement of new receptors to the cell membrane. Integrins are obligate heterodimers, meaning that they have two subunits: α (alpha) and β (beta). Integrins play an important role in cell signalling by modulating the cell signalling pathways of transmembrane protein kinases such as receptor tyrosine kinases (RTK).
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Cell Biology
- Medicine
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Question 27
Incorrect
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Which one of the following transporters is involved in facilitated diffusion?
Your Answer: Na+/K+ ATPase
Correct Answer: GLUT2
Explanation:GLUT 2 is a bidirectional transporter, allowing glucose to flow in 2 directions via facilitated diffusion. Is expressed by renal tubular cells, liver cells and pancreatic beta cells. It is also present in the basolateral membrane of the small intestine epithelium.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Cell Biology
- Medicine
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Question 28
Correct
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Microtubule disassembly:
Your Answer: Occurs at the positive and negative end
Explanation:Dynamic instability refers to the coexistence of assembly and disassembly at the ends of a microtubule. The microtubule can dynamically switch between growing and shrinking phases in this region. Although both assembly and disassembly occur at both ends they occur preferentially at the (+) end.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Cell Biology
- Medicine
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Question 29
Incorrect
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Which caspase is part of both the intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic pathways?
Your Answer: Caspase-5
Correct Answer: Caspase-3
Explanation:Once initiator caspases are activated in both the intrinsic and extrinsic pathway, they produce a chain reaction, activating several other executioner caspases (Caspase 3, Caspase 6 and Caspase 7).
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Cell Biology
- Medicine
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Question 30
Incorrect
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What is the function of secondary messengers?
Your Answer: Communication between adjacent cells
Correct Answer: Communication from extracellular to intracellular signalling pathways
Explanation:First messengers may not physically cross the phospholipid bilayer to initiate changes within the cell directly. This functional limitation necessitates the cell to devise signal transduction mechanisms to transduce first messenger into second messengers, so that the extracellular signal may be propagated intracellularly. Second messengers are intracellular signalling molecules released by the cell to trigger physiological changes such as proliferation, differentiation, migration, survival, and apoptosis. Secondary messengers are therefore one of the initiating components of intracellular signal transduction cascades.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Cell Biology
- Medicine
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SESSION STATS - PERFORMANCE PER SPECIALTY
