Genetics Review Flashcards
What is pharmacogenetics?
the study of differences in drug response due to allelic variation in genes affecting drug metabolism, efficacy, and toxicity
What is pharmacogenomics?
the genomic approach to pharmacogenetics and is concerned with the assessment of common genetic variants in the aggregate for their impact on the outcome of drug therapy
What are pharmacokinetics?
the rate at which the body absorbs, transports, metabolizes, and excretes drugs or their metabolites
What are pharmacodynamics?
the response of the drug binding to its targets and downstream targets
What are the two ways drugs can be modified to increase metabolism (phase I and II)?
Phase I - attach a polar group to make it more soluble
Phase II - attach a sugar/acetyl group to detoxify the drug and make it easier to excrete
What does the cytochrome P450 (CYP450) gene code for and what do they do?
- CYP450 enzymes that are very active in the liver
- they metabolize a wide number of drugs
What enzyme activates codeine?
CYP2D6
What does a frameshift mutation of a CYP450 gene result in?
no activity (poor activity)
What does a splicing mutation of a CYP450 gene result in?
no activity (poor activity)
What does a missense mutation of a CYP450 gene result in?
reduced activity (poor activity)
What does an increase in copy number alleles of a CYP450 gene result in?
increased activity (ultrafast activity)
CYP3A (substrate, inhibitors, inducers)
drug - cyclosporine
inhibitors - ketconazole, grapefruit juice
inducers - rifampin
CYP2C9 and VKORC1
drug - warfarin
What is the indirect method for counting autosomal dominant mutations (where reproductive fitness = 0)?
- all cases represent new mutations
- incidence = 2µ (µ=mutation rate)
What is the direct method for counting autosomal dominant mutations?
- number of new cases with no family history divided by the number who do not have it
- since each has 2 alleles for each gene then multiply denominator by two for the mutation rate
What is the Hardy-Weinberg equation?
p^2 + 2pq + q^2 = 1
p + q = 1
Prader-Willi Syndrome symptoms and cause.
cause - deletion or methylation of chr 15 paternal
- excessive eating
- short stature
- hypogonadism
- some degree of intellectual disability
Angelman Syndrome symptoms and cause.
cause - deletion or methylation of chr 15 maternal
- short stature
- severe intellectual disability
- spasticity
- seizures
Behwith-Wiedemann Syndrome symptoms and causes.
cause - chr 11 - overactive IGF-2 gene (growth factor) and/or CDKN1C (inhibitor of cell proliferation)
- macrosomia
- macroglossia
- midline abdominal defects
- can develop hemihypertrophy and increase risk of cancer
Russell-Silver Syndrome symptoms and causes
cause - hypomethylation H19 and IGF2, maternal uniparental disomy on chr 7
- tiny size and short stature
- mildly abnormal facial features
- can develop hemihypertrophy and increase risk of cancer
IDIC 15 symptoms and causes
cause - inverted duplicated isodicentric 15q
- autism
- NOT dysmorphic
- often hypotonic
- seizures common
15q interstitial duplication
- only has phenotype if inherited from the mother
- autism
- NOT dysmorphic
- seizures common
- hypotonia common during infancy
What causes Downs Syndrome?
usually error of nondysjunction
- increased risk with increasing maternal age
What are common medical issues for Downs Syndrome patients?
- atrioventricular canal
- GI structural anomalies (atresia)
- GERD
- blocked tear ducts, myopia, lazy eye, nystagmus, cataracts
- chronic ear infections, deafness, enlarged tonsils
- thyroid dz, diabetes, reduced fertility
- orthopedic probs
- increased risk of leukemia, iron deficiency anemia
- hypotonia, speech probs
- early Alzheimers and autism
What are alpha-satellite repeats?
- 171 bp repeat unit
- near centromeric region
- may be important to chromosome segregation in mitosis and meiosis
Which chromosomes are hotspots for human-specific evolutionary changes?
chr 1, 9, 16, Y (because of tandem repeats)
What are Alu?
300 bp repetitive element
What are L1?
6 kb repetitive element
What are copy number variations (CNVs)?
- where sections of the genome are repeated (one copy to many)
- primary type of structural variation
Why is gene duplication a major mechanism behind evolutionary change?
when a gene duplicates it frees up one copy to vary while the other copy continues to carry out critical function
Describe reciprocal translocation.
- results from the breakage and rejoining of non-homologous chromosomes, with a reciprocal exchange of broken segments
- increased risk of producing unbalanced gametes
For a parent with reciprocal translocation, which segregation produces normal gametes?
Alternate segregation
- adjacent segregation produces unbalanced gametes
What is robertsonian translocation?
- fusion of two acrocentric chromosomes with their centromeric regions
- results in loss of both short arms (rDNA repeats)
- carriers often phenotypically normal
- may lead to unbalanced karyotypes for their offspring
What chromosome is involved in Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome and what are the symptoms?
- del chr 4
- facial clefting
- prominent ears
- microcephaly, intellectual disability