gene expression + DNA technology Flashcards
what are gene mutations
alterations in DNA’s base sequence
(of nucleotides)
may code for diff amino acid sequence in polypeptide
what do mutagenic agents do + give examples of them
increase rate of mutation
e.g x-rays, UV light
what are the types of mutations
- inversion
- translocation
- substitution
- addition
- deletion
- duplication
ITSADD
what are the 2 main sets of genes which control the rate of cell division and their functions
1) proto-oncogenes = code for proteins that stimulate cell division
2) Tumour suppressor genes = code for proteins that slow/ suppress cell division
mutations of these genes can lead to rapid uncontrolled cell division
resulting in the development of a tumour
how can proto-oncogenes and tumour suppressor genes lead to the development of a tumour
- a mutated proto-oncogene ( known as an oncogene) - cell division is no longer regulated = rapid uncontrolled cell division
- mutation in tumor supressor gene - means the tumour supressor proteins non-functional/ cant be produced = rapid uncontrolled cell division
tumours
masses of dividing cells
cancer
group of diseases caused by alterations in the genes that usually regulate mitosis + cell cycle -> so uncontrolled division occurs
what are the types of tumours
malignant = cancerous
benign= non- cancerous
describe benign tumours
- grow slower than malignant
- non-cancerous - cells don’t spread/metastasize to other tissues as the tumours enclosed by fibrous tissue
- cells often remain differentiated (specialised)
- cell nucleus = normal appearance
describe malignant tumours
- grow faster than benign
- cancerous - cells can spread/metastasize to other parts of the body as tumours not enclosed
- cells often become undifferentiated (unspecialised)
- cell nucleus = larger + darker
stem cells
undifferentiated cells that can divide by mitosis
and differentiate into diff types of cells
what are the diff types of stem cells
- totipotent
- pluripotent
- multipotent
- unipotent
describe totipotent stem cels
- occur for a limited time in early mammalian embryos ( in 1st few cell divisions)
- can differentiate into ANY TYPE of cell
describe pluripotent stem cells
- found in embryos e.g embryo stem cells + fetal cells
- develop from totipotent cells
- can differentiate into most types of cells apart from cells of the placenta
describe multipotent stem cells
- found in mature mammals
- can differentiate into FEW, LIMITED types of specialised cells
e.g multipotent stem cells in blood marrow can produce any type of blood cell (RBC, WBC)
describe unipotent stem cells
- found in mature mammals
- can only differentiate into ONE type of cell
- cardiomyocyte stem cell = unipotent
- cardiomyocytes can only differentiate into heart muscle cells
cardio = heart
myocyte= muscle
describe how totipotent cells eventually develop into unipotent + multipotent
- Totipotent cells are in the embryos at very early stages of its development and are present in the 1st few cell divisions
- eventually totipotent cells develop into pluripotent cells in the embryo
- in mature mammals : multipotent + unipotent cells are present
- multipotent stem cells e.g in bone marrow can differentiate into any type of blood cell
- unipotent e.g cardiomyocytes develop into heart muscle cells
or epithelial cells, neurone cells etc
look at diagram saved on phone
how can stem cells that are put into body, cause more harm than good
- may lead to uncontrolled cell division - causing formation of a group of abnormal cells - developing cancerous tumour
- could be rejected by body
- could differentiate into wrong type of cell
formation of induced pluripotent stem cells ( iPS cells)
type of pluripotent stem cells
developed from unipotent stem cells
uses transcription factors to make unipotent stem cells, pluripotent
transcription factors cause/control expression/inhibition of genes (so cant code for a protein) so these cells can differentiate into a particular type of cell
iPS cells can differentiate into a wide range of diff cells / tissues
which could be used to treat ppl with certain diseases
cell differentiation by regulation of transcription
(organism develops by mitosis from a single fertilised egg
during development of organism, some genes are transcribed and expressed + other genes are not expressed - this is controlled by transcription factors )
- transcription factors are proteins that control the rate of transcription of genes
- transcription factors move from cytoplasm to nucleus and attatch to a promoter region close to the target gene
- complementary transcription factor binds to a specific sequence of nucleotides in a promoter sequence
- transcription factors act as an ‘activator’ or a ‘repressor’ by either promoting or blocking the binding of RNA polymerase
- this will will either increase or decrease the rate of transcription
- genes is then expressed if RNA polymerase can bind to DNA
- mRNA can be transcribed from these genes
- this mRNA can be translated into diff specific proteins
- the expression of diff genes results in diff proteins being coded for
- resulting in diff specialised cells being produced = differentiation
transcription factors
proteins found in the cytoplasm
which control rate of transcription by allowing/inhibiting expression of target genes
promoter region
a region of DNA where transcription of a gene is initiated
summarise cell differentiation by transcription
transcription factor (TF)
moves from cytoplasm to nucleus
attach to promoter region close to target gene
transcription factors complementary to specific sequence of nucleotides in promoter sequence
it then either promotes or blocks the binding of RNA polymerase
activators (TF) - promote binding of RNA polymerase- increase rate of transcription - stimulating gene expression via transcription
gene is section of DNA that codes 4 protein
how does gene expression influence differentiation of cells
the expression of diff genes (allows mRNA to be transcribed) results in diff proteins being coded for / translated from this mRNA
resulting in diff specialised cells being produced = differentiation
hormonal regulation of gene expression
- some hormones can enter target cell
- then stimulate the expression of a specific gene in target cell
How does oestrogen regulate gene expression
- oestrogens lipid soluble as its a steroid hormone
- so it can easily diffuse across cell membrane
- oestrogen binds to complementary receptor protein to activate
transcription factor - transcription factor enters nucleus from cytoplasm
- binding of oestrogen changes shape of transcription factor
- allowing it to bind specifically to complementary promoter sequence of specific gene
- this allows RNA polymerase to attach to gene + catalyse transcription of the gene
- this stimulates gene expression
- mRNA is transcribed from the gene
- mRNA is translated into protein
OESTROGEN = INCREASES expression of specific genes
oestrogen causing breast cancer
oestrogen can increase expression of genes associated w cell division
(can stimulate breast cells to divide more rapidly)
high blood concs of oestrogen over period of time can increase the risk of uncontrollable cell division - causing cancer
treatment of breast cancer caused by high conc of oestrogen
drug: tamoxifen - effective in treating forms of breast cancer linked to high oestrogen concs
tamoxifen converted to endoxifen in body
endoxifen has a similar structure to oestrogen
endoxifen competes with oestrogen for binding to oestrogen receptor on transcription factor
oestrogen cannot bind to TF so transcription factors not activated to attach to promoter sequence
no transcription occurs
how can benign tumours harm the body
- could put pressure on organs as it grows
- may damage organs
prevention of translation by siRNA
translation of mRNA can be inhibited by RNAi (RNA interference) - this often involves siRNA
so mRNA cant be translated into proteins
- long, double stranded molecules of RNA are hydrolysed by an enzyme into shorter molecules
- RNA becomes single stranded siRNA as it unwinds
- siRNA binds to an enzyme that hydrolyses mRNA
- siRNA binds to specific molecule of mRNA by complementary base pairing
- siRNA guides hydrolytic enzyme to target mRNA
- the enzyme hydrolyses the mRNA molecule into fragments so it can no longer be translated into protein
describe siRNA
small interfering RNA
short, double stranded sections of RNA - around 20-25 base pairs long
found in cytoplasm
regulates gene expression by
causing mRNA to be broken down after transcription - PREVENTING TRANSLATION
epigenetics
heritable changes in gene function
WITHOUT changes to DNA base sequence
epigenetic changes
- can either increase or decrease gene expression
- changes can be caused by aspects of the environment e.g stress/diet etc
- methylation of DNA
- acetylation of Histones
what is increased methylation of DNA
- methyl group (CH3) attaches to DNA
- methyl group always attatches to Cytosine (C) when its next to Guanine (G) = known as CpG site
the ‘p’ represents phosphate between the 2 bases - increased methylation inhibits transcription ➜ by preventing binding of transcription factors to promoter so genes not expressed ( gene cant be transcribed)
acetylation of Histones in increasing/decreasing transcription
in eukaryotes : DNA is wrapped around proteins called histones to form chromatin
addition/ removal of acetyl groups (COCH3) may occur
histones more acetylated= transcription more likely
histones less acetylated = inhibits transcription
what happens when histones are less acetylated
histones- less acetylated (removal of acetyl groups)
so chromatins more condensed
so transcriptions inhibited as genes not accessible to transcription factors
what happens when histones are more acetylated
when histones are more acetylated (more acetyl groups added) - chromatins less condensed (loosely packed) - so transcription of genes more likely as genes are now more accessible to transcription factors
epigenetics + disease
epigenetic changes can cause abnormal activation or inhibition of genes leading to disease
epigenetic changes can be reversed
through drugs designed to target specific cells in which epigenetic changes have taken place
how can cancers develop via methylation
abnormal changes in level of methylation
- hypermethylation (too much methylation)
- hypomethylation ( too little methylation)
how does cancer develop from hypermethylation
hypermethylation of tumour supressor genes means
these genes are NOT transcribed
so the protein that slows cell division is not produced
leading to uncontrolled cell division
and the development of a tumour
how does cancer develop from hypomethylation
hypomethylation of proto-oncogenes
means these genes are continually transcribed (produced)
so increased production of proteins that stimulate cell division
leading to rapid, uncontrolled cell division
and development of a tumour
whats the difference between a proto-oncogene and an oncogene
proto-oncogene= code for proteins that stimulate cell division
oncogene= result as a mutation in proto-oncogenes leading to rapid uncontrolled cell division