Lecture Exam 4 Flashcards
What are the four phases of the cell cycle and what are the main events of each?
-G1 Phase: Is the environment favorable to enter the S phase?
-S Phase: DNA replication
-G2 Phase: Is all DNA replicated and any damage repaired? Can we enter mitosis?
-M Phase: Mitosis (nuclear division) and Cytokinesis (cytoplasmic division)
What is a cyclin and what is cyclin-dependent kinase and how do these complexes regulate cell cycle progression?
-Cyclin: regulatory protein whose concentration rises and falls at specific times during the eukaryotic cell cycle; help to control progression from one stage of the cell cycle to another by binding to a Cdk
-Cyclin-Dependent Kinase: what the cyclin binds to to control progression of the cell cycle to another
What roles do the S-cyclin and M-cyclin play? (what phases do they promote?)
-S-Cyclin: regulatory protein that helps to launch the S phase of the cell cycle
-M-Cyclin: regulatory protein that binds to mitotic Cdk to form M-Cdk, triggers the M phase of the cell cycle
How is ubiquitination used to regulate cyclins?
-Ubiquitination adds a ubiquitin chain to the cyclin which helps the cyclin be destroyed in the proteasome
How is phosphorylation used to regulate CDK activity?
-The CDK is phosphorylated by 2 inhibitory phosphates to activate it
How are inactivator proteins like p27 used to regulate cyclin-Cdk complexes?
-p27 binds to an activated cyclin-Cdk complex. Its attachment prevents the Cdk from phosphorylating target proteins required for progress through G1 into S phase
What does it mean for a replication origin to be “licensed” and when does this occur in the cell cycle? When does origin firing take place?
-“Licensing” of the replication origin means that all chromosomal DNA has been replicated precisely before cell division occurs; this occurs during G1 phase
-Origin Firing occurs during S phase after the replication origin has been formed
Define apical and basal surfaces of an epithelial tissue.
-Apical Surface: free and exposed to the air or to a bodily fluid
-Basal Surface: attached to a sheet of connective tissue called the basal lamina
Describe types of mutations that can lead to the loss of a tumor suppressor gene. Name an example of a tumor suppressor gene.
-Recessive Mutation (loss of function): mutation inactivates one copy of tumor suppressor gene; second mutation inactivates the second gene copy; results in complete loss of tumor suppressor gene
-Example: p53
Describe types of mutations that could activate an oncogene. Name an example of a proto-oncogene.
-Dominant Mutation (gain of function): mutation in one copy of proto-oncogene creates a hyperactive oncogene
-mutation in coding sequence→hyperactive mutant protein made in normal amounts
-gene amplification→normal protein overproduced
-Chromosome rearrangement (one of two)
-nearby regulatory DNA sequence causes normal protein to overproduce
-fusion with actively transcribed gene produces hyperactive fusion protein
-Something is happening to turn these on that increases activity
-point mutation, duplication/amplification, truncation (regulatory part is missing)
-Example: EGFR
Stem Cell
relatively undifferentiated, self-renewing cell that produces daughter cells that can either differentiate into more specialized cell types or can retain the developmental potential of the parent cell
Totipotent
can form all the cell types in a body (even embryonic)
Pluripotent
capable of giving rise to any type of cell or tissue
Multipotent
can develop into more than one cell type, but are more limited than pluripotent
In general, do cancers form from a single mutation or multiple mutations? Why?
-Cancers generally form multiple mutations. The body is easily able to fix a single mutation, but it is harder to fix multiple mutations
What are some cancer treatment options?
-Surgery: removal of tumor (best case/ideal)
-Radiation: induces DNA damage and apoptosis
-can be alone or in combination with chemo
-Antineoplastic Chemo:
-Primary Induction: if surgery is not an option
-Neoadjuvant Chemo: surgery is done/added benefit
-Adjuvant Chemo: make sure nothing comes back
Why are cancer drugs combined together?
-Provides a maximal cell kill within range of toxicity
-Broader range of the interaction between drugs and tumor
-May prevent or reduce the rate of drug resistance development
-Avoiding hypersensitivity reactions by treating at lower doses
What are some common side effects of chemo?
-Constantly proliferating cells are the most affected
-Depression of bone marrow and blood cell levels
-Hair loss
-Cells of the digestive tract (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea)
-Neurotoxicity (headaches, nausea, vomiting, tremors)
-Liver and kidney are negatively affected during metabolism/excretion
Why is it critical to detect a tumor when it is smaller?
-Bigger tumors require more treatment
-The larger the tumor, the fewer healthy cells that are growing and dividing
-As tumor size increases, growth factor decrease (growing and dividing)
What are examples of typical targets of classic cancer drugs?
-Nucleotide Production
-Replication
-Transcription
-Cell Production
-Enzymes
(Hallmarks of Cancer Paper)
What is the difference between schedule-dependent and dose-dependent chemotherapy?
-Schedule-Dependent: effectiveness is cell-cycle phase-specific
-Dose-Dependent: effectiveness is not cell-cycle phase-specific
What are some examples of newer cancer drug targets?
-Senescent Cells, unlocking phenotypic plasticity, nonmutual epigenetic reprogramming, polymorphic microbiomes
-New Hallmarks of Cancer Paper
Receptor
a protein that recognizes and responds to a specific signal molecule
Ligand
general term for a small molecule that binds to a specific site on a macromolecule
Agonist
binds to the receptor and produces a similar response as the natural ligand
Agonist
binds to the receptor and produces a similar response as the natural ligand