Carcinogenesis

Question 1

What types of effects can happen from damage or change in the genetic materials and machinery involved in cell division?

Answer 1

1) mutagenesis
– Production of a mutation by loss, addition or alterations of individual bases or base pairs or a small number of base pairs in the DNA molecule

2) aneugenesis
– Acquisition or loss of complete chromosomes and clastogenicity in the induction of chromosomal aberrations as a result of loss, addition, or rearrangement of parts of chromosomes

3) clastogenesis
– Large scale chromosomal aberration

Question 2

Which phase of cell division is the most vulnerable?

Answer 2

The S phase

Question 3

Which drugs induce aneugenesis and how?

Answer 3

Drugs interfering with spindles are colchicine, paclitaxel, griseofulvin, nocodazole

They interact with spindle fibers during mitosis

Question 4

What is an epigenetic carcinogen?

Answer 4

A carcinogen that does not interact directly with genetic material but causes damage to DNA. It is non-genotoxic.

Question 5

Which genes are screened as cancer causing genes?

Answer 5

Oncogenes, tumor-suppressing genes, apoptosis genes (suicide genes), DNA repairing genes.

Question 6

Which in vitro tests are used to test a drugs ability to create genotoxic damage?

Answer 6

Ames test – bacteria

Mouse lymphoma assay (MLA) – mammalian cells