how gene expression is related to cancer development?and what are genetic treatment for cancer and how it work
Biology - 3 Answers
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This might be a long one...bare with me. There are two terms you need to know here, oncogenes and tumor suppressors. Oncogenes are those that promote cell division, and tumor suppressors generally have the opposite effect; they suppress cell division. You can imagine that it is very, very important that these two kinds of genes be properly balanced. If an oncogene becomes inappropriately expressed (because of a mutation in the parts of the gene that control its expression, ie the promoter), the cell may begin to divide uncontrollably - this can eventually lead to a tumor. Tumor suppressors, when they function correctly, can often signal the cell to die because of excess oncogene action. Mutations in the tumor suppressors that make them inactive can allow the oncogenes to swamp out the control mechanisms and the cell will again divide uncontrollably. This is a very simplistic explanation, and there are other factors like apoptosis (programmed cell death) and DNA repair mechanisms that are also at play. Genetic treatments for cancer haven't evolved to the point that specific oncogenes can be turned off or tumor suppressors turned on by medicine. It usually targets cancers because of their propensity to grow so quickly. For instance, using DNA nucleotides that stop the growth of a DNA chain can make it difficult to grow if you are a multiplying cell - this is called chain termination or chain poisoning. This can be a very effective form of chemotherapy. One of the problems is that some cells naturally replicate quickly, such as blood cells, hair cells, skin cells, and intestinal epithelial cells...that is why chemo. side effects often involve the skin, hair, blood system, and digestive system. I hope this at least partially answered your question! It's a HUGE topic.
3 :
Billy C did a great job of explaining the basic genetic factors involved in cancer (neoplasm) development. While Oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes are a carefully orchestrated set of complex genetic feedback regulators, and does play a significant role is cellular transformation into malignant cancer cells, there are other possibilities as well. There are over 200 different types of cells in the human body and nearly everyone of them holds the potential to turn cancerous, each with their own unique cancer based characteristics. There are slow growning malignancies and there are rapid aggressive cancer cell types, among others. It is thought that in some forms of cancer cells, mutations occur in metabolic pathways that are associated with both mitosis and meiosis -- in such a way that the cell "thinks" it is trying to undergo both mitosis and meiosis at the same time. Such behavior would successfully account for both chromosome breakage and cellular dedifferentiation. Whatever the cause, there is a loss of control; a loss of information in the cancer cell. One experiment demonstrates this: an aggressive cancer cell was fused with a normal somatic cell. Some thing in the somatic cell stablized the cancer cell, which promptly underwhen apoptosis or programmed cell death. Just my opinion: the best genetic based treatment for cancer (depending on many factors like type of cancer) is to boost the immune system and to artificially stimulate its activity against cancer cell antigens and specific markers like the presents of the enzyme, telomerase. Telomerase is not normally found in stable body somatic cells. I would also suggest some form of treatment using drugs to block cancer angiogenesis.
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Title : how gene expression is related to cancer development?and what are genetic treatment for cancer and how it work
Description : how gene expression is related to cancer development?and what are genetic treatment for cancer and how it work Biology - 3 Answers Rando...