lec 5 - medical biotech

Question 1

biomarkers

Answer 1

molecules found in blood, bodily fluids, or tissues that are signs of normal or abnormal conditions/diseases

Question 2

biomarker examples

Answer 2

• PSA (prostate-specific antigen)
• amyloid-beta (alzheimer’s)

Question 3

liquid biopsies

Answer 3

• analyzing circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA)
• early detection of cancer, identify candidates for treatment, track patient’s response to treatment

Question 4

list (7)

liquid biopsy advantages

Answer 4

non-invasive, widely applicable, sensitive, specific, no radiation, low infrastructure cost, low expertise cost (just blood test)

Question 5

grail (illumina)

Answer 5

• sequencing cancer patients’ blood to search for set of DNA markers for each cancer
• universal marker of cancer but don’t know where cancer is
• quick analysis time (10 mins), minimal sample preparation, small DNA input, outcome assessed with naked eye

Question 6

FoundationOne

Answer 6

liquid biopsy for advanced metastatic breast cancer, advanced ovarian cancer, types of metastatic lung cancer

Question 7

injectable nanoparticle priming agents

Answer 7

interfere with body’s ability to remove ctDNA –> leaves more in blood –> increased sensitivity

Question 8

electrokinetic technology

Answer 8

detects epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFRs) in exomes –> distinguish between active and non-active EGFRs for glioblastoma

Question 9

how to increase accuracy of cancer detection?

Answer 9

MRI and liquid biopsy

Question 10

list (4)

barriers preventing early detection

Answer 10

• lack of understanding of tumor formation
• markers for pre-malignancy exist in small ammounts
• test in asymptomatic patients without over-diagnosing
• convince funders that your idea is good

Question 11

technology convergence

Answer 11

multicancer screening tests –> model based on deep learning called end-motif inspection via transformer (EMT) created using thousands of samples for various cancers

Question 12

DeepGestalt

Answer 12

trained datasets on photos of patients affected by rare disorders –> linked facial patterns to genetic diseases

Question 13

personalized medicine

Answer 13

• therapy with righ drug to right dose to right patient
• target unique molecular properties of cancer cells

Question 14

personalized medicine

oncogenes

Answer 14

drugs that specifically target oncogenic proteins, mobilize immune system to eradicate cells that overexpress oncogenes

Question 15

HER2 is oncogene/tumor suppressor gene?

Answer 15

• overexpressed in breat cancer
• herceptin (monoclonal antibody) binds and inhibits HER2 –> no dimerization

Question 16

gleevec is oncogene/tumor suppressor gene?

Answer 16

• targets BCR-ABL fusion protein created by chromosome 9 and 22

Question 17

tumor suppressor genes

Answer 17

use ultra sensitivity of cancer cells to DNA damage to elicit self destruction by inducing programmed cell death

Question 18

PARP inhibitors is oncogene/tumor suppressor gene?

Answer 18

• PARP mends nicks in DNA
• blocks action of ADP-ribose polymerase in DNA repair –> double stranded breaks –> accumulation of damage –> apoptosis

Question 19

PARP inhibitors concern

Answer 19

increases genomic instability –> accumulation of new cancer mutations, won’t work for cells with defects in apoptosis

Question 20

pharmacogenomics

Answer 20

customizing medicine by designing the most effective drug therapy and treatments based on specific genetic profile of patient

Question 21

pharmacogenomics

tamoxifen

Answer 21

• hormone therapy for breast cancer –> must be metabolized to endoxifen for use
• many ppl cannot break it down –> develops resistance

Question 22

list (4)

ways to get molecular info of individuals?

Answer 22

• whole genome sequencing (WGS)
• whole exome sequencing (WES)
• single cell sequencing (SCS)
• single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq)

Question 23

immunotherapy

Answer 23

using antibodies to achieve specificty –> monoclonal antibodies (Mab)

Question 24

immune checkpoint inhibitors

Answer 24

release brakes on cytotoxic T cells –> kills tumor cells

Question 25

chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)

Answer 25

man-made from intracellular T cell domain fused with antigen binding domain of another ligand

Question 26

CAR T cell immunotherapy

Answer 26

- remove T cells from patient --> introduce new gene into T cell that targets specific cancer cells --> re-introduce into patient - systemic: can target anywhere in body

Question 27

cancer vaccines

Answer 27

inject cancer cell antigens to stimulate immune system to attack cancer cells

Question 28

oncolytic viruses

Answer 28

more inclination to infect tumor cells --> virus replicates --> cell lysis --> immune system attracted to clear virus out

Question 29

# list (6) immunotherapy challenges

Answer 29

- high treatment costs - less than 50% of patients respond well - more effective for blood cancers, less for solid tumors - lengthy production time - deadily if immune system overactivates (cytokine storm) - engineered T cells are short-lived