Cancer Cell Biology Flashcards
What is meant by cancer?
Disease in which abnormal cells divide without control and can invade nearby tissues.
State 2 environmental causes of cancer.
Infectious agents e.g. HPV. Environmental carcinogens e.g. smoking. Diet e.g. alcohol.
State 2 genetic causes of cancer.
Inherited e.g. BRCA in breast cancer. Somatic e.g. RAS in pancreatic cancer.
State 3 hallmarks of cancer (VIP).
Sustaining proliferative signalling. Evading growth suppressors. Avoiding immune destruction. Enabling replicative immortality. Activating invasion and metastasis. Inducing angiogenesis. Resisting cell death.
Are proto-oncogenes promoters or inhibitors of cell growth and division?
Promoters.
Are tumour suppressor genes promoters or inhibitors of cell growth and division?
Inhibitors.
In which 2 phases does the cell grow and perform function.
G1 and G2.
The cell cycle is divided into which 2 stages.
Interphase and mitosis.
Where are the checkpoints to check for DNA damage?
End of G1. End of G2.
State 1 of the things that happens to the cell if the DNA is damaged.
Goes to G0 phase for repair. Undergoes apoptosis.
Which enzyme is responsible for promoting cell growth?
Cyclin dependent kinases.
What halts the cell cycle?
Lack of cyclin, as it’s needed to bind to cyclin dependent kinases, to phosphorylate proteins and promote the cell cycle.
State 2 things proto-oncogenes code for to promote cell growth and division.
Growth factor/growth factor receptors e.g. RTK. Transcription factors e.g. MYC. Signal transduction proteins e.g. RAS. Apoptosis inhibitors e.g. BCL-2.
State 1 effect of oncogenes?
Overexpression - too many proteins. Code for hyperactive proteins.
State 1 condition associated with oncogenes.
Burkitt Lymphoma - MYC gene translocation so over-expression of cyclin and cyclin-dependent kinase. Leukemia - chromosomal translocation to produce BCR-ABL fusion gene which activates tyrosine kinase for cell division.
