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Mitogen
 
 
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A mitogen is a chemical substance
Chemical substance

A chemical substance is a material with a specific Empirical formula. It is a concept that became firmly established in the late eighteenth century after work by the chemist Joseph Proust on the composition of some pure chemical compounds such as basic copper carbonate....
, usually some form of a protein
Protein

Proteins are organic compounds made of amino acids arranged in a linear chain and joined together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of adjacent amino acid Residue ....
, that encourages a cell to commence cell division
Cell division

Cell division is a process by which a cell , called the parent cell, divides into two or more cells, called daughter cells. Cell division is usually a small segment of a larger cell cycle....
, triggering mitosis
Mitosis

Mitosis is the process in which a eukaryotic cell separates the chromosomes in its cell nucleus, into two identical sets in two daughter nuclei....
.

Mitogens trigger signal transduction
Signal transduction

In biology, 'signal transduction' refers to any process by which a cell converts one kind of signal or stimulus into another. Most processes of signal transduction involve ordered sequences of biochemistry chemical reaction inside the cell, which are carried out by enzymes, activated by Second messenger systems, resulting in a signal tran...
 pathways in which mitogen-activated protein kinase
Mitogen-activated protein kinase

Mitogen-activated protein kinases are serine/threonine-specific protein kinases that respond to extracellular stimuli and regulate various cellular activities, such as gene expression, mitosis, Cellular differentiation, and cell survival/apoptosis....
 is involved, leading to mitosis.

lass="link1" onMouseover='showByLink("m3845081",this)' onMouseout='hide("m3845081")'href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Plasma_cell">Plasma B cells
Plasma cell

Plasma cells, also called plasma B cells or plasmocytes, are White blood cells of the immune system transported by the blood plasma and the lymphatic system....
 can enter mitosis when they encounter an antigen
Antigen

An antigen is a substance that prompts the generation of antibodies and can cause an immune response. The word originated from the notion that they can stimulate antibody generation....
 matching their immunoglobulin
Antibody

Antibodies are gamma globulin proteins that are found in blood or other bodily fluids of vertebrates, and are used by the immune system to identify and neutralize foreign objects, such as bacterium and viruses....
.

Mitogens are often used to stimulate lymphocyte
Lymphocyte

A lymphocyte is a type of white blood cell in the vertebrate immune system.By their appearance under the light microscope, there are two broad categories of lymphocytes, namely the large granular lymphocytes and the small lymphocytes....
s and therefore assess immune function.

The most commonly used mitogens in clinical laboratory medicine are:



Lipopolysaccharide
Lipopolysaccharide

Lipopolysaccharides , also known as lipoglycans, are large molecules consisting of a lipid and a polysaccharide joined by a covalent bond; they are found in the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria, act as endotoxins and elicit strong immune responses in animals....
 toxin
Toxin

A toxin is a poisonous substance produced by living cells or organisms. For a toxic substance not produced by living organisms, "toxicant" is the more appropriate term, and "toxics" is an acceptable plural....
 from gram-negative bacteria is thymus
Thymus

In human anatomy, the thymus is an organ located in the upper anterior portion of the Thoracic cavity just behind the sternum. The main function of the thymus is to provide an area for T lymphocyte maturation....
 independent.






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Encyclopedia


A mitogen is a chemical substance
Chemical substance

A chemical substance is a material with a specific Empirical formula. It is a concept that became firmly established in the late eighteenth century after work by the chemist Joseph Proust on the composition of some pure chemical compounds such as basic copper carbonate....
, usually some form of a protein
Protein

Proteins are organic compounds made of amino acids arranged in a linear chain and joined together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of adjacent amino acid Residue ....
, that encourages a cell to commence cell division
Cell division

Cell division is a process by which a cell , called the parent cell, divides into two or more cells, called daughter cells. Cell division is usually a small segment of a larger cell cycle....
, triggering mitosis
Mitosis

Mitosis is the process in which a eukaryotic cell separates the chromosomes in its cell nucleus, into two identical sets in two daughter nuclei....
.

Mitogens trigger signal transduction
Signal transduction

In biology, 'signal transduction' refers to any process by which a cell converts one kind of signal or stimulus into another. Most processes of signal transduction involve ordered sequences of biochemistry chemical reaction inside the cell, which are carried out by enzymes, activated by Second messenger systems, resulting in a signal tran...
 pathways in which mitogen-activated protein kinase
Mitogen-activated protein kinase

Mitogen-activated protein kinases are serine/threonine-specific protein kinases that respond to extracellular stimuli and regulate various cellular activities, such as gene expression, mitosis, Cellular differentiation, and cell survival/apoptosis....
 is involved, leading to mitosis.

Use in immunology

Plasma B cells
Plasma cell

Plasma cells, also called plasma B cells or plasmocytes, are White blood cells of the immune system transported by the blood plasma and the lymphatic system....
 can enter mitosis when they encounter an antigen
Antigen

An antigen is a substance that prompts the generation of antibodies and can cause an immune response. The word originated from the notion that they can stimulate antibody generation....
 matching their immunoglobulin
Antibody

Antibodies are gamma globulin proteins that are found in blood or other bodily fluids of vertebrates, and are used by the immune system to identify and neutralize foreign objects, such as bacterium and viruses....
.

Mitogens are often used to stimulate lymphocyte
Lymphocyte

A lymphocyte is a type of white blood cell in the vertebrate immune system.By their appearance under the light microscope, there are two broad categories of lymphocytes, namely the large granular lymphocytes and the small lymphocytes....
s and therefore assess immune function.

The most commonly used mitogens in clinical laboratory medicine are:

Name Acts upon T cell
T cell

T cells belong to a group of white blood cells known as lymphocytes, and play a central role in cell-mediated immunity. They can be distinguished from other lymphocyte types, such as B cells and natural killer cells by the presence of a special receptor on their cell surface called T cell receptors ....
s? 		Acts upon B cell
B cell

B cells are lymphocytes that play a large role in the humoral immunity . The principal functions of B cells are to make antibody against antigens, perform the role of Antigen Presenting Cells and eventually develop into memory B cells after activation by antigen interaction....
s? |- | phytohaemagglutinin
Phytohaemagglutinin

Phytohaemagglutinin is a lectin found in plants, especially beans. PHA actually consists of two closely related proteins, called Leucoagglutinin and PHA-E....
 (PHA) 		yes - | concanavalin A
Concanavalin A

Concanavalin A is a lectin protein originally extracted from the jack-bean Canavalia ensiformis. It binds specifically to certain structures found in various sugars, glycoproteins, and glycolipids, namely internal and nonreducing terminal alpha-Mannose groups....
 (conA) 		yes - | lipopolysaccharide
Lipopolysaccharide

Lipopolysaccharides , also known as lipoglycans, are large molecules consisting of a lipid and a polysaccharide joined by a covalent bond; they are found in the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria, act as endotoxins and elicit strong immune responses in animals....
 (LPS) 		no - | pokeweed mitogen
Pokeweed mitogen

Pokeweed mitogen is a mitogen derived from Phytolacca americana. It functions as a lectin.External links...
 (PWM) 		yes yes


Lipopolysaccharide
Lipopolysaccharide

Lipopolysaccharides , also known as lipoglycans, are large molecules consisting of a lipid and a polysaccharide joined by a covalent bond; they are found in the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria, act as endotoxins and elicit strong immune responses in animals....
 toxin
Toxin

A toxin is a poisonous substance produced by living cells or organisms. For a toxic substance not produced by living organisms, "toxicant" is the more appropriate term, and "toxics" is an acceptable plural....
 from gram-negative bacteria is thymus
Thymus

In human anatomy, the thymus is an organ located in the upper anterior portion of the Thoracic cavity just behind the sternum. The main function of the thymus is to provide an area for T lymphocyte maturation....
 independent. They may directly activate B cells, regardless of their antigen
Antigen

An antigen is a substance that prompts the generation of antibodies and can cause an immune response. The word originated from the notion that they can stimulate antibody generation....
ic specificity.

Plasma cell
Plasma cell

Plasma cells, also called plasma B cells or plasmocytes, are White blood cells of the immune system transported by the blood plasma and the lymphatic system....
s are terminally differentiated
Cellular differentiation

In developmental biology, cellular differentiation is the process by which a less specialized cell becomes a more specialized cell type. Differentiation occurs numerous times during the development of a multicellular organism as the organism changes from a single zygote to a complex system of Tissue and cell types....
 and therefore cannot undergo mitosis. Memory B cell
Memory B cell

Memory B cells are a B cell sub-type that are formed following primary infection....
s can proliferate to produce more memory cells or plasma B cells. This is how the mitogen works, by inducing mitosis in B cells to cause them to divide, with some becoming plasma cells.

Mitogens in Human Physiology

Insulin-like Growth Factor 1
Insulin-like growth factor 1

Insulin-like growth factor 1 that was once called somatomedin C, is a polypeptide protein hormone similar in molecular structure to insulin. It plays an important role in childhood growth and continues to have Anabolism in adults....
 mediates the major growth-promoting effect of Human Growth Hormone as a paracrine agent at growth plates in the skeletal system.

Other uses

Mitogens also induce the activity of the PTGS2
PTGS2

Prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 , also known as PTGS2, is a protein which in humans is encoded by the PTGS2 gene.Prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase , also known as cyclooxygenase, is the key enzyme in...
 enzyme
Enzyme

Enzymes are biomolecules that catalysis chemical reactions. Almost all enzymes are proteins. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process are called Substrate , and the enzyme converts them into different molecules, the products....
.

External links