Wk. 1 | Applications + Nucleic Acids Flashcards
Molecular Diagnostics is a combination of these three things
Lab medicine
Knowledge of molecular genetics
Technology
5 uses for nucleic acid testing
- Establish dx
- Classification
- Prognosis
- Monitor therapy
- Assess drug sensitivity/resistance
Applications of molecular dx in the clinical lab
Genetic disorders/inheritance
Mutations + cancer
Infectious diseases
Endocrine disorders
Cardio disorders
Neuro disorders
Cancer examples
B and T cell lymphomas
Chronic Myelogenous leukemia
Ewings sarcoma
Rhabdomyosarcoma
Infectious disease examples
Viruses
- EBV
- CMV
- HIV
Bacteria
- M. tuberculosis
- Chlamydia
- Neisseria
Inherited diseases examples
Fragile X
Leiden Factor V
Hereditary hemochromatosis
DNA ID examples
Organ transplant
Paternity testing
Family analysis of pedigrees
Forensics
All infectious agents contain ___
nucleic acids
Advantages of molecular diagnostics
- Enhanced specificity and sensitivity
- Detects single cells
- Viral Load: can detect as few as 50 copies of DNA/RNA
Limitations of molecular dx
- High cost, low reimbursement
- Contamination causes false positives
- Space, equipment and training
Appropriate samples for mol. dx
- Peripheral blood (50 uL WBCs)
- Sperm
- Urine
- Saliva
- Hair follicle
- Bone
- Teeth
_____ has as much DNA in 5 uL as 50 uL of blood
Sperm
Mol dx needs samples containing
any cell with a nucleus
What cell does not have a nucleus
RBCs
Three types of genetic disorders
Chromosomal
Monogenic
Polygenic
Chromosomal Disorders are
a loss, gain, or abnormal arrangement resulting in too much/little of genetic material
Monogenic Disorders are the result of
a single mutant gene
What genetic disorder follows traditional Mendelian inheritance
monogenic disorders (10/1000 births)
Polygenic disorders
- result of multiple genetic factors
- does NOT follow mendelian inheritance
- examples include chronic adult diseases and congenital malformations
Common mutations are referred to as
polymorphisms
Fragment length variations
Part of a mutation
- Analyzed by endonuclease digestion
Hyper variable regions of DNA are
Many copies of same DNA sequence
- Mini and microsatellites
Minisatellite
Variable number tandem repeats
- 10-100 bp in length
Microsatellite
Di, tri, or tetra nucleotide repeat sequences
Tri-nucleotide Repeat
Common in everyone, expansion of repeat beyond normal results in disease such as Fragile X or Huntington’s
Three types of mutations
Germline (inheritable)
Acquired
Point mutations (single nucleotide)
Point mutations can either be _____ or _______
Transition: purine -> purine
Transversion: purine -> pyrimidine
Direct tests depend on and are useful for
depend mutation or gene being known
- good for detecting mutations or foreign DNA sequences
Indirect molecular tests
sequence is unknown
- good for tracking inheritance and gene mapping