EvidenceLib · Topic area
Molecular Biology
Molecules, pathways and cellular machinery. 100 evidence-grounded articles.
A B C D E F G H I L M N O P Q R S T U W
Adiposity
The amount of fat or lipid deposit at a site or an organ in the body, an indicator of body fat status.
Alternative Splicing
A process whereby multiple RNA transcripts are generated from a single gene.
Amino Acid Sequence
The order of amino acids as they occur in a polypeptide chain.
Anaphase
The phase of cell nucleus division following metaphase, in which the chromatids separate and migrate to opposite poles of the spindle.
Apoptosis
A regulated cell death mechanism characterized by distinctive morphologic changes in the nucleus and cytoplasm, including the endonucleolytic cleavage of genomic DNA, at regularly spaced, internucleosomal sites, i.e., dna fragment
Autophagy
The segregation and degradation of various cytoplasmic constituents via engulfment by multivesicular bodies; vacuoles; or autophagosomes and their digestion by lysosomes.
Binding Sites
The parts of a macromolecule that directly participate in its specific combination with another molecule.
Biosynthetic Pathways
Sets of enzymatic reactions occurring in organisms and that form biochemicals by making new covalent bonds.
Blood Cell Count
The number of leukocytes and erythrocytes per unit volume in a sample of venous blood.
Calcium Signaling
Signal transduction mechanisms whereby calcium mobilization (from outside the cell or from intracellular storage pools) to the cytoplasm is triggered by external stimuli.
Catalytic Domain
The region of an enzyme that interacts with its substrate to cause the enzymatic reaction.
Cell Communication
Any of several ways in which living cells of an organism communicate with one another, whether by direct contact between cells or by means of chemical signals carried by neurotransmitter substances, hormones, and cyclic AMP.
Cell Cycle
The complex series of phenomena, occurring between the end of one cell division and the end of the next, by which cellular material is duplicated and then divided between two daughter cells.
Cell Death
The termination of the cell's ability to carry out vital functions such as metabolism, growth, reproduction, responsiveness, and adaptability.
Cell Degranulation
The process of losing secretory granules (secretory vesicles).
Cell Differentiation
Progressive restriction of the developmental potential and increasing specialization of function that leads to the formation of specialized cells, tissues, and organs.
Cell Division
The fission of a CELL.
Cell Fusion
Fusion of somatic cells in vitro or in vivo, which results in somatic cell hybridization.
Cell Lineage
The developmental history of specific differentiated cell types as traced back to the original stem cells in the embryo.
Cell Movement
The movement of cells from one location to another.
Cell Polarity
Orientation of intracellular structures especially with respect to the apical and basolateral domains of the plasma membrane.
Cell Survival
The span of viability of a cell characterized by the capacity to perform certain functions such as metabolism, growth, reproduction, some form of responsiveness, and adaptability.
Cellular Senescence
Process by which cells irreversibly stop dividing and enter a state of permanent growth arrest without undergoing cell death.
Chemotaxis
The movement of cells or organisms toward or away from a substance in response to its concentration gradient.
Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats
Repetitive nucleic acid sequences that are principal components of the archaeal and bacterial crispr-cas systems, which function as adaptive antiviral defense systems.
Consensus Sequence
A theoretical representative nucleotide or amino acid sequence in which each nucleotide or amino acid is the one which occurs most frequently at that site in the different sequences which occur in nature.
Conserved Sequence
A sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide or of nucleotides in DNA or RNA that is similar across multiple species.
CpG Islands
Areas of increased density of the dinucleotide sequence cytosine--phosphate diester--guanine.
DNA Cleavage
A reaction that severs one of the covalent sugar-phosphate linkages between nucleotides that compose the sugar phosphate backbone of DNA.
DNA Mismatch Repair
A DNA repair pathway involved in correction of errors introduced during DNA replication when an incorrect base, which cannot form hydrogen bonds with the corresponding base in the parent strand, is incorporated into the daughter s
DNA Repair
The removal of dna lesions and/or restoration of intact DNA strands without base pair mismatches, intrastrand or interstrand crosslinks, or discontinuities in the DNA sugar-phosphate backbones.
Electron Transport
The process by which electrons are transported from a reduced substrate to molecular oxygen.
Endocytosis
Cellular uptake of extracellular materials within membrane-limited vacuoles or microvesicles.
Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress
Various physiological or molecular disturbances that impair endoplasmic reticulum function.
Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition
Phenotypic changes of epithelial cells to mesenchyme type, which increase cell mobility critical in many developmental processes such as neural tube development.
Erythropoiesis
The production of red blood cells (erythrocytes).
Excision Repair
A major DNA repair mechanism in which defective regions in one strand are excised and resynthesized using the complementary base pairing information in the intact strand.
Excitation Contraction Coupling
A process fundamental to muscle physiology whereby an electrical stimulus or action potential triggers a myocyte to depolarize and contract.
Exocytosis
Cellular release of material within membrane-limited vesicles by fusion of the vesicles with the cell membrane.
Ferroptosis
A form of regulated cell death initiated by oxidative perturbations of the intracellular microenvironment that is under constitutive control by glutathione peroxidase 4 and can be inhibited by iron chelators and lipophilic antioxi
Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer
A type of fluorescence spectroscopy using two fluorescent dyes with overlapping emission and absorption spectra, which is used to indicate proximity of labeled molecules.
G1 Phase
The period of the cell cycle preceding dna replication in S phase.
G2 Phase
The period of the cell cycle following DNA synthesis (S phase) and preceding M phase (cell division phase).
Gluconeogenesis
Biosynthesis of glucose from nonhexose or non-carbohydrate precursors, such as lactate; pyruvate; alanine; and glycerol.
Glycolysis
A metabolic process that converts glucose into two molecules of pyruvic acid through a series of enzymatic reactions.
Glycosylation
The synthetic chemistry reaction or enzymatic reaction of adding carbohydrate or glycosyl groups.
Hematopoiesis
The development and formation of various types of blood cells.
Hydroxylation
Placing of a hydroxyl group on a compound in a position where one did not exist before.
Immunogenic Cell Death
A form of regulated cell death that results in release of specific damage associated molecular pattern molecules which activate an adaptive immune response.
Interphase
The interval between two successive cell divisions during which the chromosomes are not individually distinguishable.
Leukocyte Count
The number of white blood cells per unit volume in venous blood.
Lipogenesis
De novo fat synthesis in the body.
Lipolysis
The metabolic process of breaking down lipids to release free fatty acids, the major oxidative fuel for the body.
Meiosis
A type of cell nucleus division, occurring during maturation of the germ cells.
Melanogenesis
The biosynthesis of melanins in insects and higher animals.
Membrane Fluidity
The motion of phospholipid molecules within the lipid bilayer, dependent on the classes of phospholipids present, their fatty acid composition and degree of unsaturation of the acyl chains, the cholesterol concentration, and tempe
Membrane Fusion
The adherence and merging of cell membranes, intracellular membranes, or artificial membranes to each other or to viruses, parasites, or interstitial particles through a variety of chemical and physical processes.
Metabolic Reprogramming
Various cellular responses cells undergo in order to sustain energy production under cellular metabolic stress.
Metaphase
The phase of cell nucleus division following prometaphase, in which the chromosomes line up across the equatorial plane of the spindle apparatus prior to separation.
Methylation
Addition of methyl groups.
Mitochondrial Dynamics
The continuous remodeling of mitochondria shape by fission and fusion in response to physiological conditions.
Mitosis
A type of cell nucleus division by means of which the two daughter nuclei normally receive identical complements of the number of chromosomes of the somatic cells of the species.
Molecular Dynamics Simulation
A computer simulation developed to study the motion of molecules over a period of time.
Molecular Structure
The location of the atoms, groups or ions relative to one another in a molecule, as well as the number, type and location of covalent bonds.
Necroptosis
A form of regulated cell death initiated by perturbations of extracellular or intracellular homeostasis that trigger a specific cell death pathway involving the activation of ripk3 and MLKL (mixed lineage kinase domain like pseudo
Oogenesis
The process of germ cell development in the female from the primordial germ cells through oogonia to the mature haploid ova (OVUM).
Osmosis
Tendency of fluids (e.g., water) to move from the less concentrated to the more concentrated side of a semipermeable membrane.
Pentose Phosphate Pathway
An oxidative decarboxylation process that converts glucose-6-phosphate to D-ribose-5-phosphate via 6-phosphogluconate.
Phosphorylation
The introduction of a phosphoryl group into a compound through the formation of an ester bond between the compound and a phosphorus moiety.
Polyadenylation
The addition of a tail of polyadenylic acid (POLY A) to the 3' end of mRNA (RNA, messenger).
Prophase
The first phase of cell nucleus division, in which the chromosomes become visible, the cell nucleus starts to lose its identity, the spindle apparatus appears, and the centrioles migrate toward opposite poles.
Protein Binding
The process in which substances, either endogenous or exogenous, bind to proteins, peptides, enzymes, protein precursors, or allied compounds.
Protein Biosynthesis
The biosynthesis of peptides and proteins on ribosomes, directed by messenger rna, via transfer rna that is charged with standard proteinogenic amino acids.
Protein Conformation
The characteristic 3-dimensional shape of a protein, including the secondary, supersecondary (motifs), tertiary (domains) and quaternary structure of the peptide chain.
Protein Domains
Discrete protein structural units that may fold independently of the rest of the protein and have their own functions.
Protein Stability
The ability of a protein to retain its structural conformation or its activity when subjected to physical or chemical manipulations.
Proteolysis
Cleavage of proteins into smaller peptides or amino acids either by proteases or non-enzymatically (e.g., Hydrolysis).
Proteostasis
Regulation of the concentration, folding, interactions, and cellular localization of each of the proteins that comprise the proteome.
Pyroptosis
Type of programmed cell death associated with infection by intracellular pathogens.
Quorum Sensing
A phenomenon where microorganisms communicate and coordinate their behavior by the accumulation of signaling molecules.
Re-Epithelialization
Reconstitution of eroded or injured epithelium by proliferation and migration of epithelial cells from below or adjacent to the damaged site.
Respiratory Burst
A large increase in oxygen uptake by neutrophils and most types of tissue macrophages through activation of an nadph-cytochrome b-dependent oxidase that reduces oxygen to a superoxide.
Response Elements
Nucleotide sequences, usually upstream, which are recognized by specific regulatory transcription factors, thereby causing gene response to various regulatory agents.
RNA Editing
A process that changes the nucleotide sequence of mRNA from that of the DNA template encoding it.
RNA Splicing
The ultimate exclusion of nonsense sequences or intervening sequences (introns) before the final RNA transcript is sent to the cytoplasm.
S Phase
Phase of the cell cycle following G1 and preceding G2 when the entire DNA content of the nucleus is replicated.
Secretory Pathway
A series of sequential intracellular steps involved in the transport of proteins (such as hormones and enzymes) from the site of synthesis to outside the cell.
Sequence Homology
The degree of similarity between sequences.
Signal Transduction
The intracellular transfer of information (biological activation/inhibition) through a signal pathway.
Sperm Motility
Movement characteristics of spermatozoa in a fresh specimen.
Spermatogenesis
The process of germ cell development in the male from the primordial germ cells, through spermatogonia; spermatocytes; spermatids; to the mature haploid spermatozoa.
Substrate Specificity
A characteristic feature of enzyme activity in relation to the kind of substrate on which the enzyme or catalytic molecule reacts.
Sumoylation
A type of post-translational protein modification by small ubiquitin-related modifier proteins (also known as SUMO proteins).
Synteny
The presence of two or more genetic loci on the same chromosome.
TATA Box
A conserved A-T rich sequence which is contained in promoters for RNA polymerase II.
Transcriptome
The pattern of gene expression at the level of genetic transcription in a specific organism or under specific circumstances in specific cells.
Tumor Microenvironment
The milieu surrounding neoplasms consisting of cells, vessels, soluble factors, and molecules, that can influence and be influenced by, the neoplasm's growth.
Ubiquitination
The act of ligating ubiquitins to proteins to form ubiquitin-protein ligase complexes to label proteins for transport to the proteasome endopeptidase complex where proteolysis occurs.
Unfolded Protein Response
A cellular response to environmental insults that cause disruptions in protein folding and/or accumulation of defectively folded protein in the endoplasmic reticulum.
Wnt Signaling Pathway
A complex signaling pathway whose name is derived from the drosophila Wg gene, and the vertebrate INT gene.