intracellular

(adjective)

Inside or within a cell.

Related Terms

Examples of intracellular in the following topics:

  • Chlamydiae

    • Chlamydiae are a bacterial phylum and class whose members are obligate intracellular pathogens.
    • Chlamydiae are a bacterial phylum and class whose members are obligate intracellular pathogens.
    • Chlamydiae replicate inside the host cells and are termed intracellular.
    • Most intracellular chlamydiae are located in an inclusion body or vacuole .

  • Genome Reduction

    • Many genes have been transferred to the host nucleus, while others have simply been lost and their function replaced by host processes.Other bacteria have become endosymbionts or obligate intracellular pathogens and have experienced extensive genome reduction as a result.
    • In fact, as much as 90% of the genetic material can be lost when a species makes the evolutionary transition from a free-living to obligate intracellular lifestyle.
    • It is important to note, however, that some obligate intracellular species have positive fitness effects on their hosts.
    • This model illustrates four general features of reduced genomes and obligate intracellular species: ‘genome streamlining' resulting from relaxed selection on genes that are superfluous in the intracellular environment; a bias towards deletions (rather than insertions), which heavily affects genes that have been disrupted by accumulation of mutations (pseudogenes); very little or no capability for acquiring new DNA; and considerable reduction of effective population size in endosymbiotic populations, particularly in species that rely on vertical transmission.

  • Carboxysomes

    • Carboxysomes are intracellular structures that contain enzymes involved in carbon fixation and found in many autotrophic bacteria.
    • Carboxysomes are intracellular structures found in many autotrophic bacteria, including Cyanobacteria, Knallgasbacteria, Nitroso- and Nitrobacteria.

  • Medical Importance of Viruses

    • Viruses are obligate intracellular parasites that hijack a host cell's machinery to replicate, thereby causing disease.
    • Because of the conserved nature of a virus's intracellular life cycle, fundamental advances in our understanding of replication have come from viruses that infect both animal and non-animal hosts.

  • Intracellular Pathogens

    • There are several types of intracellular pathogens.

  • Acidobacteria

    • For example, most acidophiles are able to pump protons out of the intracellular space to maintain a neutral pH within the cytoplasm.
    • This is advantageous as the intracellular proteins are not required to develop tolerance against highly acidic conditions.

  • Type IV (Delayed Cell-Mediated) Reactions

    • 1. activating antigen-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocytes that are able to induce apoptosis in body cells displaying epitopes of foreign antigen on their surface, such as virus-infected cells, cells with intracellular bacteria, and cancer cells displaying tumor antigens
    • It is most effective in removing virus-infected cells, but also participates in defending against fungi, protozoans, cancers, and intracellular bacteria.
    • Activated CD8+ T cells destroy target cells on contact, whereas activated macrophages produce hydrolytic enzymes and, on presentation with certain intracellular pathogens, transform into multinucleated giant cells.

  • Magnetosomes

    • Magnetosomes are intracellular organelles in magnetotactic bacteria that allow them to sense and align themselves along a magnetic field.
    • Magnetosomes are intracellular organelles found in magnetotactic bacteria that allow them to sense and align themselves along a magnetic field (magnetotaxis).

  • Microbial Growth at Low or High pH

    • Most acidophile organisms have evolved extremely efficient mechanisms to pump protons out of the intracellular space in order to keep the cytoplasm at or near neutral pH.
    • Therefore, intracellular proteins do not need to develop acid stability through evolution.

  • Mycoplasmas and Other Cell-Wall-Deficient Bacteria

    • Mycoplasma species are widespread examples and some can be intracellular pathogens that grow inside their hosts.
    • Similarly, they have no need for genes encoding many different pathways for various carbon, nitrogen and energy sources, since their intracellular environment is completely predictable.