Final Flashcards
which countries have the highest incidence of HIV?
African countries (South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Mozambique) and India
replication cycle of HIV
HIV infects CD4 cells & macrophages by gp120, gp41, CCR5 and CXCR4; replication in metabolically active cells with reverse transcriptase, using our cell membrane for the envelope.
why do 10% of hemophiliacs not progress to AIDS?
possibility of no CCR5 receptors
what are the phases of HIV infection that lead to AIDS?
acute phase: infection, reduced CD4 with viremia, seroconversion, mono-like symptoms
latent phase: lymphadenopathy, viral replication, low viremia, opportunistic infections, average length of 10 years
what 2 neoplasms are most often seen in AIDS?
hairy leukoplakia and Kaposi Sarcoma (also non-Hodgkin lymphoma)
what is the diagnostic criteria of AIDS, and what lab tests are used to test for HIV?
CD4 count <200 cells/mL, viremia re-emergence, AIDS-defining disease
HIV Testing: ELISA and Western blot
what lab tests are used to monitor HIV infection?
CD4 count and HIV1 RNA viral load (PCR)
what are mitotic bodies/figures, and what do they tell you about a cancer?
mitotic bodies are one of the possible signs of possible malignancy that stain differently histologically. If you see mitotic bodies it is indicative of dividing cells–> what you would expect to see of cancerous cells
in what types of tissue do sarcomas arise, and how do they prefer to spread?
muscles and connective tissue spread in blood stream
in what types of tissues do carcinomas arise, and how do they prefer to spread?
epithelium spread through lymphatic system
what are adenocarcinomas?
glandular cancers
which tissues are most sensitive to ionizing radiation, and why?
cells in mitosis or the G2 phase
does then ending “-oma” always mean the cancer is benign?
No! -OMA means swelling/tumor. Have to memorize cancers on a case by case basis.
how does the Ames test work, and for what reasons might it be misleading?
The Ames Test works by detecting mutagenic effects of potential carcinogens (potential drugs to weed out possible carcinogens) via inducing frameshift mutations. Mutated Salmonella cannot produce its own histidine. The bacteria will die without histidine. You place these bacteria in a low-histidine medium (plate) with a potentially mutagenic chemical. If they are mutagenic then the Salmonella can revert back. THIS WILL NOT SHOW EPIGENETIC CHANGES
worldwide, which cancer kills the most females, and which kills the most men?
MEN: hepatocellular carcinoma
WOMEN: cervical cancer
in the first world, at what age range does cancer incidence peak?
80-84 y/o
Know you MEN syndromes!!!
MENI: PPP- pituitary, parathyroid hyperplasia, pancreatic tumors
MENIIA: PPM- parathyroid hyperplasia, pheochromocytoma, medullary thyroid carcinoma
MENIIB: PMMM- mucosal neuromas, marfanoid body habitus, medullary thyroid carcinoma, pheochromocytoma
what is the difference between a preneoplastic disorder, and a paraneoplastic syndrome?
Paraneoplastic syndromes occur when a neoplasms elaborates a substance that results in an effect that is not directly related to growth, invasion, or metastasis of the tumor itself (hormone, etc). The syndrome may precede the neoplastic diagnosis and may serve as a signal.
Preneoplastic disorders may be acquired and are issue that increase the likelihood of reaching a cancerous stage and are correlated directly with the cancer (Hep B and liver cancer)
what is an initiator, and what is the difference between direct-acting and indirect-acting chemical carcinogens? what are procarcinogens?
initiator: direct-acting chemical carcinogens modify DNA to cause cancer; indirect-acting chemical carcinogens (procarcinogens) get altered metabolically within us to form active carcinogens
what is the difference between a genotoxic and non-genotoxic mechanism?
genotoxic mechanisms employ DNA damage, choromosomal misentegration, etc.
non-genotoxic mechanisms employ chronic irritation/cell death, ROS, epigenetic silencing, immunosuppression, etc
what do geneticists look for when they are trying to find promoter regions on genes, and why do you increase the risk of malignancy as you increase the number of methylations at these sites?
Promoter region alterations are looked at because mutations here are found in all types of cancers. Methylation at the CpG islands ends with complete silencing of a gene
what type of solar radiation is the most carcinogenic
UVB
How does UVB cause cancer?
It produces pyrimidine dimers in DNA leading to transcriptional errors and mutations of proto-oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes
what type of radiation is the hospitals/oncologists/sterilization friend?
Ionizing radiation (higher-energy radiation)
why is neutron radiation not used?
neutron radiation doesn’t interact as well and penetrates deeper into the body, only ionizing indirectly
what 3 essential activities are proto-oncogenes involved in?
growth, cellular differentiation, and gene regulation
what is meant by gain-of-function and loss-of-function mutations? how many “hits” to the alleles are needed to produce each?
gain-of-function: oncogenes; one-hit process; creation of a more active protein and stimulation of the cell cycle
loos-of-function: tumor suppressors; two-hit process; creates no active proteins and inhibits the cell cycle
how do viruses do this? what is an acutely transforming retrovirus and how does the process work?
viruses can cause cancer/tumors by either carrying in oncogenes or inserting their genome into our genome (possibly into a tumor suppressor, etc). from microbio, an acutely transforming retrovirus doesn’t have the proofreading mechanisms that would disallow mutations from occurring.
Fred and Freda both have grade II stage IIa adenocarcinoma of the distal esophagus. What is it about the same type of tumor at the same stage,, that still may make the prognosis in these two individuals different?
hormone receptivity/sensitivity (estrogen-sensitive cancers may grow more rapidly, but also show a greater sensitivity to radiation therapies)
what are the 7 fundamental changes in cell physiology that are needed for the tumor to behave in a malignant fashion?
self-sufficiency in growth signals insensitivity to growth-inhibitory signals evasion of apoptosis limitless replicative potential sustained angiogenesis ability to invade and metastasize defects in DNA repair
what is the guardian of the genome, and what phase does it normally stop the cell from entering if the cell has damaged DNA?
P53 prevents a cell with damaged DNA from entering the S phase