Description
Homeostasis. The health of an organism is influenced by external and internal changes that may lead to the loss of homeostasis. Under healthy conditions organisms compensate these changes. If compensation fails disease ensues. Attention will be paid to lifestyle, environmental changes, genetic makeup and health system. It will be answered how lifestyle, environment, genetic makeup and social conditions help to maintain or upset the biological balance and lead to cancer. Tumor formation. To understand this process the transfer of intracellular and the pathways of extracellular information (signal transduction) will be reviewed briefly. Loss of cellular balance may lead to cell death (.e.g. apoptosis) or to rapid cell growth of cells leading to tumor formation. Metastasis. Animal tumor models serve to understand the spread of the primary tumor cells to distant locations of the organism. Different types of tumors and metastases will be reviewed. Preface 1. Homeostasis Chemical basis of biological regulation Definition of homeostasis, allostasis Aqueous internal environment Optimal systems Basic properties of living systems Metabolism and energy production of living systems Contribution of biological membranes to homeostasis Function of the inner environment and its regulated parameters Cellular, tissue and organ homeostasis Dimensions of health Control of processes Levels of bioregulation Regulation of multicellular organisms Major regulatory systems of organisms Regulatory mechanisms: receptors, reflexes Maintaining human homeostasis Evolutionary aspects and types of regeneration Panic syndromes References 2. Cell cultures Cell cultivation Cell cultures Establishment of cell cultures Development of primary tumors Growth of cell lines Technical aspects of cell cultivation Sterile work under the laminar flow hood Deep freezing, storage of cells Cell cycle synchronization and its flow cytometric validation Stem cells References 3. Loss of homeostasis Loss of biological balance Tissue adaptation Pathological hypertrophies Heloma Callus formation Liver regeneration References 4. Tumor development Characterization of benign and malignant tumors Primary tumor models Classification of tumors Tumor tests Carcinogens Techniques of tumor screening Antitumor agents Benign tumor formation in different tissues and their treatment General steps in tumor formation Benign tumors of major organs References 5. Metastasis Historical view of metastasis Spread of tumor cells from local tissue to distant organs Animal cancer models Role of parathymic lymph nodes in metastasis Importance of size distribution of tumor cells in metastasis Metastasis in different organs References Abbreviations
