Neoplasia Flashcards
somatic mutation hypothesis of cancer
cell growth, differentiation, and survival are under genetic control and malignant transformation is due to mutations in specific classes of genes
3 classes of genes involved in cancer
growth promoters
growth suppressors
caretakers
Growth Promoters
mutations ACTIVATE encoded protein
growth suppressors
mutations INACTIVATE encoded protein
caretakers
doesnt inhibit or activate, but promotes stability of genome (proteins involved in DNA repair)– when inactivated, likelihood of mutation events in either oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes increases
6 phenotypic hallmarks of cancer
1) dysregulation of cell proliferation (too proliferative)
2) insensitivity to growth inhibitory signals
3) evasion of apoptosis
4) limitless replicative potential
5) angiogenesis
6) invasion and metastasis
gene products involved in apoptosis or cell senescence
- pro or anti-apoptotic proteins
- immortalization genes (telomerase)
landscaper genes
proteins involved in regulating angiogenesis
proteins involved in cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesion
proteolytic enzymes req for invasion
proto-oncogene
gene that encodes a protein that mediates or stimulates cell proliferation
oncogene
inappropriately activated proto-oncogene, either by mutation or changed expression
6 types of proteins encoded by oncogenes
- growth factors
- growth factor receptors
- signal transduction molecules
- steroid hormone receptors
- transcription factors
- cell cycle proteins
ex of growth factor
v-sis which encodes PDGF in an autocrine stimulation loop
ex of growth factor receptor
transmembrane receptor tyrosine kinase
EGF-R in lung
HER-2-neu in other parts
ex cell cycle proteins
cyclins and CDKs
ras
GTP binding protein involved in signal transduction from RTKs
ki ras
lung, ovarian, pancreatic cancer
N-ras
leukemias
3 ex signal transduction molecules
- non-receptor protein tyrosine kinases: src
- cytoplasmic serine/threonine kinases: raf
- GTP-binding proteins: ras
dominant mutations
gain of function
- Qualitative: changes in structure of gene resulting in uncontrolled function
- Quantitative: up-regulation of expression of structurally normal protein
ras pathway
growth factor receptor (tyrosine kinase)
- ->adaptor proteins
- ->ras GDP-GTP exchange
- ->raf
- ->MEK
- -> MAP-kinase
- ->activated transcription factor (SRF)
Ras mutations that diminish GTPase activity
increase ras signaling output (because cant break down GTP)
gene amplification mechanism
place proto-oncogene adjacent to powerful tissue-specific promoter, resulting in overexpression
ex-burkit lymphoma
chromosome rearrangement mechanism
can create fusion genes–result in unregulated or aberrant activity and transformation
ex-philadelphia chromosome
ex of nuclear regulatory factor
persistant expression or overexpression of myc transcription factor in
- neuroblastoma/glioblastoma (n-myc)
- small cell lung cancer (l-myc)
philadelphia chromosome
fuses proto-oncogene c-abl with gene bcr, with loss of abl-regulatory domains
why are TSG sometimes referred to as recessive oncogenes?
both alleles of a TSG must be “knocked out” for transformation– knocking a gene that normally inhibits tumor growth
loss of heterozygosity
- inheritance of one defective copy of TSG
- second hit- transformation occurs
one band on PCR- LOH
4 mechanisms of LOH
- mitotic recombination
- chromosome mis-segregation during mitosis (nondisjunction during G2/M checkpoint–>deletion of WT allele
- epigenetic gene inact
- random pt mutation (unlikely)