NBME Review Flashcards
what is a telomere?
Nucleotides found at the end of chromosomes; contain TTAGGG sequences
why is telomerase needed?
Lagging strand has no place for RNA primer, so telomerase needed
how does telomerase work?
Telomerase recognizes telomere sequences and adds them to new DNA with RNA template -> “RNA-dependent DNA polymerase”
where is telomerase activity especially important?
cells that need controlled indefinite replications (hematopoietic stem cells, epidermis, hair follicles, intestinal mucosa —> esp affected by chemotherapy)
general process of base excision repair
damaged base removed, phosphate backbone removed, new nucleotide added
when does base excision repair happen
all phases of cell cycle
what is base excision repair for
Specific base errors recognized (ie deaminated bases, oxidized bases, open rings)
DNA glycosylase
removes damaged bases in base excision repair
AP endonuclease
attacks 5’ end and creates 3’ -OH in base excision repair
AP lyase
attacks 3’-OH end in base excision repair
when is nucleotide excision repair active
G1 phase (prior to DNA synthesis)
what is nucleotide excision repair for
For damage that involves multiple bases
What is nucleotide excision repair especially important for
repair of pyrimadine dimers caused by UV damage
process of nucleotide excision repair
- Endonucleases remove damaged bases
- DNA polymerase adds back new bases
- DNA ligase seals it
problem leading to xeroderma pigmentosa
defective nucleotide excision repair
signs and symptoms of xeroderma pigmentosa
extreme sensitivity to sun, dry skin, changes in pigmentation, HIGH risk of skin cancer
when does mismatch repair (MMR) occur
Occurs in S/G2 phase (after DNA synthesis)
what is mismatch repair (MMR) for
incorrectly placed bases (insertion, deletion, incorrect matches)
*KEY: the base itself is not damaged
mechanism is mismatch repair
Newly synthesized strand compared to template strand, errors removed, then resealed
why is mismatch repair (MMR) important
needed for microsatellite stability
what can occur if MMR is faulty
DNA slippage can occur at microsatellites -> insertions/deletions + possible frameshift
HNPCC is a problem with
HNPCC = hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer = lynch syndrome: germline mutation of MMR enzymes -> microsatellite instability and colon cancer
homologous end joining (HEJ)
for double stranded DNA damage:
Uses sister chromatids as template
Non-homologous end joining (NHEJ)
for double stranded DNA damage:
Proteins used to re-join broken ends (DNA pol lambda and mu)
KEY: no template -> highly error prone
defected NHEJ can lead to
Ataxia telangiectasia: ATM gene on chromosome 11, DNA sensitive to ionizing radiation. CNS, skin, immune system affected. Usually 1st year healthy then slow dev, progressive motor coordination problems. High risk cancer
major CFTR trafficking deficit
In the ΔF508 mutation, the CFTR protein is still made, just laking the 508th a.a. (Phenylalanine)
It is still a functional protein, but is misfolded in ER which causes ubiquination (rather than transport to golgi) and then degredation by proteasomes
what is a dominant negative effect
“A mutation whose gene product adversely affects the normal, wild-type gene product within the same cell. Usually occurs if product can still interact with the same elements as the wild-type product, but block some aspect of its functions”
ex of dominant negative effect
Nonsense mediated decay -> quality control mechanism that eliminates mRNA transcripts that have premature termination codons (PTCs)
Beta-thalassemia depends on NMD pathway; many mutations can alter splicing and/or result in PTC -> triggering mRNA decay and loss of protein
Other mutations are NMD resistant and result in truncated products that act in dominant negative manner
point mutation
1 base switched for another
Transition=purine to purine or pyrimadine to pyrimadine
Transversion = purine to pyrimadine or vice versa
silent mutation
nucleotide substitution codes for same aa, often a change in the 3rd position of codon (“wobble”)
nonsense mutation
early stop codon
missense mutation
codes for different aa
frameshift
insertion/deletion that’s not multiple of 3; can cause a early stop codon or loss of stop codon
mechanism of retinoblastoma formation
Mutation in rb protein, which normally binds to E2F until rb is phosporylated
Phosphorylation of rb by G1-S-CDK releases inhibition
rb regulates cell growth -> “tumor suppressor”
Abnormal rb -> unregulated cell growth via E2F
two-hit origin of cancer
mutation of tumor suppressor genes
Heterozygous mutation -> no disease
Loss of heterozygosity
huntington gene abnormality
HTT gene located at 4p16.3; CAG expansion in Exon 1
CAG codes for glutamine (Q) -> PolyQ tract
hypothesized cause of expansion in huntington
Meiotic instability in sperm -> unequal crossing over
huntington protein has high expression in
testes and brain
function of huntington protein
Found in nucleus and cytoplasm and regulates intracellular transport of many proteins, including shuttling TFs in and out of nucleus or sequestering them
Required for normal embryonic dev and neurogenesis
CAG expansion in huntington leads to
aggregation of mutant protein into inclusion bodies
inheritance of huntington
AD
symptoms in huntington caused by
degeneration in basal ganglia (striatum)
presentation of huntington
Characterized by dementia, chorea, ataxia, and dysarthria
Death usually 10-20 years after diagnosis
results of meiosis I
“Reductive division” -> diploid to halpoid
results of meiosis II
Chromatids separate -> 4 daughter cells (haploid)
spermatogenesis
Begins at puberty
Spermatogonium (2n) -> Mitosis -> 1° spermatocyte (2n) -> meiosis I -> 2° spermatocyte (1n) -> meiosis II -> spermatid (1n) -> spermiogenesis -> spermatozoa
oogenesis
1° oocytes (2n) formed in utero -> arrested in prophase I
At puberty, 1° oocytes begin completing meiosis I each cycle -> 2° oocytes (1n) and polar bodies
2° oocytes arrested in metaphase II until fertilization
meiotic NDJ
Failure of chromosomes to separate; most common cause of aneuploidy
Meiosis I NDJ
homologous chromosomes fail to separate -> games have chromosomes from both parents
Meiosis II NDJ
sister chromatids fail to separate (ie XXY males)
maternal NDJ
common cause of trisomy; higher risk because meiosis 1 is so drawn out
mitochondrial diseases typically refer to defects in
aerobic metabolism (electron transport chain)
how many proteins encoded by mtDNA
13 polypeptide protein subunits
systems most affected by mitochondrial diseases
neurologic, muscular, cardiac
heteroplasmy
Mitochondria have multiple copies of mtDNA
Cells have multiple mitochondria
Heteroplasmy occurs when there is a mixture of normal and abnormal
implication of heteroplasm
uncertain chance of passing on mitochondrial diseases from mother
chimerism
2 genomes present in 1 individual -> usually result of fusion of 2 zygotes
mosaicism typically occurs
as result of a post-fertilization mitotic error
somatic mosaicism
in the body, usually develops post-conception
ie Congenital hyperpigmentation- male with mental retardation and swirling pigmentation. Diagnosed by chromosome study of skin cells
germline mosaicism
confined to germ cells. The individual will not have any symptoms, but may have multiple offspring with a mutation frequently thought of as sporadic
inheritance of CF (and chromosome)
AR, chromosome 7
mutations in CFTR gene cause
abnormal chloride transport -> thick mucous due to lack of water equilibrium
PKU inheritance pattern
AR