Immune System and Adipose Cells Essay

Submitted By JoseIzurieta
Words: 1385
Pages: 6

Breast Cancer
1. Discuss the structure and function of the normal cell belonging to the effected organ.

a) Name the cancer affected organ and what are the vital functions of that organ in the human body
The cancer affected organ in the body is the breast. Breasts are complex, specialized organs whose primary function is to produce milk for an infant or a baby.

b) Specialised tissues that the organ is made up of
The structure of the female breast is complex — including fat and connective tissue (adipose and fibrous), as well as lobes, lobules, ducts and lymph nodes. Adipose tissue is essentially the fat found within the body. It is a type of connective tissue which plays an important role in the functioning of the body.

c) Draw a histology diagram of the effected organ showing all the different types of tissues it is made up of.
Breast Histology Diagram

d) Select one of the specialised cell type of the effected organ. What is the important role of the selected specialised cell and how it produces and stores energy? (include normal BIOCHEMICAL PATHWAYS)
Adipose tissue, also known as fat tissue, serves many purposes within the body. The important functions are heat insulation and energy transformation.
Adipose tissue acts as a source of energy when the body does not receive as much glucose as it needs. Excess energy from carbohydrates are synthesised by the liver, and stored in the form of lipids in adipose cells.
Fat is useful as a backup source for energy use as it can be easily stored with minimal water, and provides more energy than carbohydrates. One of the primary roles of fat in the body is to provide reserves of stored energy which are used to fuel the body. This is also called ATP, which is used in the chemical bond between the adenosine and the phosphate group. When that bond is broken, energy is released which powers the cellular processes from body fat.
Adipose cells, called adipocytes, can be split into two types, white adipose tissue, and brown adipose tissue. White adipose tissues are much more common than brown fat, and are used mainly as energy storage in times of low carbohydrate consumption; it is composed of mainly of globular cells containing large lipid vacuoles, with few mitochondria. Brown adipose tissue, however, is absorbed mainly for the release of heat; it is composed of smaller lipid vacuoles as well as many more mitochondria.

2. A specialised normal cell that has changed into a cancer cell

a) Discuss in detail the differences between a cancer cell and a normal cell in terms of their growth, structure, vascularisation and energy production
When a cancer develops, the outline, size and shape of the cancerous cell may change.
Growth: Normal cells stop reproducing when enough cells are present. In contrast, cancer cells don’t stop growing even when there are enough cells present. Each gene in the body carries a blueprint that codes for a different protein. Some of these proteins are growth factors, chemicals that tell cells to grow and divide. If the gene that codes for one of these proteins is stuck in the “on” position by a mutation – the growth factor proteins continue to be produced and the cells continue to grow.
Structure: Normal cells have DNA in their genes and chromosomes that functions normally. Cancer cells develop an unusual DNA or gene structures and acquire abnormal numbers of chromosomes, since they are always growing.

Vascularisation: Normal cells have built in blood vessel systems. Whereas, cancer cells lack a built in blood vessel system, they require more amino acids to grow. Angiogenesis is the process by which cells attract blood vessels to grow and feed the tissue. Normal cells undergo a process called angiogenesis only as part of normal growth and development or when new tissue is needed to repair damaged tissue. Cancer cells undergo it even when growth is not necessary.
Energy production: Normal cells get 70% of