Cancerous Cell Flashcards
What are the six hallmarks of cancer?
Evading apoptosis, self-sufficiency in growth signals, insensitivity to anti-growth signals, tissue invasion and metastasis, limitless replicative potential and sustained angiogenesis.
What sort of disease is cancer?
Genetic
Is cancer mostly caused by sporadic mutations or genetic disposition?
Sporadic
What type of mutations cause cancer?
Several mutations in a single cell types but deletions, additions, point mutations etc are all possible
What are the major classes of genes/proteins in cancer?
Oncogenes/oncoprotein, tumour suppressor genes/proteins and genes/proteins involved in DNA repair.
What causes a proto-oncogene become an oncogene?
A single point mutation in coding sequences, gene amplification and chromosome rearrangement.
Why are single point mutations often called dominant mutations?
As it introduces a mutation which creates a new gene and new protein which has a new function and will contribute towards converting a cell into a cancer cell.
Where can certain retroviruses acquire proto-oncogenes from?
The cellular genome and they can convert them to viral oncogenes
What are proto-oncogenes functions?
Growth factors (platelet derived), growth factor receptors (EGFR), signal transducers (Ras-GTPase) and nuclear proto-oncogenes and transcription factors (c-myc transcription factor).
What do tumour suppressor genes have the ability to do?
Suppress the tumorigenic phenotype by transfection into tumour cells.
What does mutation in a tumour suppressor gene cause?
Loss of gene function through two events in both alleles of the gene, so called recessive mutation.
What do both alleles of the tumour suppressor gene need to be to create a cancer cell?
Inactivated
What can bind to tumour suppressors or gene products to inactivate them?
DNA viruses eg. HPV protein E6 and E7
What processes are effected in cancers?
Cell cycle, apoptosis, cell adhesion, angiogenesis etc.
