A red spot
means that the gene is expressed in cancer cells but not expressed in normal cells. This gene may be involved in causing colon cancer.
Which gene is highly expressed in cancer cells?
There are many tumor suppressor genes in cells, but the one most studied is
p53
, which is mutated in over 50 percent of all cancer types. The p53 protein itself functions as a transcription factor.
How does gene expression affect cancer?
Gene mutations associated with cancer
can be passed on through the germ line (i.e., inherited from one’s parents)
, or they can be acquired through somatic mutations. It takes time for a cell to accumulate all of the mutations required to become cancerous, which is why cancer risk often increases with age.
Does this gene appear to have increased expression up regulation in cancer cells?
Red spots
show genes that produce more mRNA in cancer cells than in healthy cells. These genes are “turned up” or “upregulated” in cancer.
How do you know if a gene contributes to tumor growth?
To detect an oncogene in this way,
DNA is extracted from tumor cells, broken into fragments
, and introduced into these fibroblasts in culture. If any of the fragments contains an oncogene, small colonies of abnormally proliferating—so-called ‘transformed’—cells may begin to appear.
What are the two major types of genes that are mutated in cancer?
- Acquired mutations. These are the most common cause of cancer. …
- Germline mutations. These are less common. …
- Tumor suppressor genes. These are protective genes. …
- Oncogenes. These turn a healthy cell into a cancerous cell. …
- DNA repair genes.
How can a cell become cancerous?
Cells become cancerous
after mutations accumulate in the various genes that control cell proliferation
. According to research findings from the Cancer Genome Project, most cancer cells possess 60 or more mutations.
What is a hallmark of cancer cells?
The hallmarks constitute an
organizing principle for rationalizing the complexities of
neoplastic disease. They include sustaining proliferative signaling, evading growth suppressors, resisting cell death, enabling replicative immortality, inducing angiogenesis, and activating invasion and metastasis.
How is cancer staging determined?
The clinical stage is an estimate of the extent of the
cancer based on results of physical exams, imaging tests (x-rays, CT scans, etc.), endoscopy exams
, and any biopsies that are done before treatment starts. For some cancers, the results of other tests, such as blood tests, are also used in clinical staging.
Which gene can promote tumor growth?
These are altered forms of genes known as
proto-oncogenes
. Proto-oncogenes promote cell growth. When changed or mutated, they become oncogenes. They can then promote tumor formation or growth.
Which definition best defines cancer?
Cancer:
An abnormal growth of cells which tend to proliferate in an uncontrolled way and, in some cases, to metastasize (spread)
. Cancer is not one disease. It is a group of more than 100 different and distinctive diseases.
What information can cancer researchers gain from using DNA microarrays?
Later, microarrays were used to gain
insight into whether gene expression changes could be correlated with cancer treatment outcomes
. For instance, in 2000, Alizadeh et al. published an important study correlating gene expression in lymphomas (cancers of a group of white blood cells) with patients’ clinical outcomes.
Which factor is a promoter of cancer?
The
transcription factor GABP
selectively binds and activates the mutant TERT promoter in cancer. Science. 2015 May 29;348(6238):1036-9.
What mechanism is involved in the beginning of tumor growth?
The first step in the process, tumor initiation, is thought to be the result of
a genetic alteration leading to abnormal proliferation of a single cell
. Cell proliferation then leads to the outgrowth of a population of clonally derived tumor cells.
What types of cancers are genetic?
- Breast cancer.
- Colon cancer.
- Prostate cancer.
- Ovarian cancer.
- Uterine cancer.
- Melanoma (a type of skin cancer)
- Pancreatic cancer.
What type of mutation is frequently associated with loss of function tumor suppressor genes?
LOH and Location of Tumor Suppressor Genes
Inactivation is frequently by mutation of one allele and loss,
through chromosomal deletion
, of the second.
