1. Cancer genetics Breast cancers can be divided into several classes. One type of breast cancer, classified as HER2 positive ("HER2+"), represents 15-20% of breast cancers. Most HER2+ cancers arise due to amplification of the HER2 gene (without any mutation of the HER2 protein coding region). HER2 amplification is also associated with several other types of cancer (e.g. stomach cancer). Would the HER2 gene be considered a proto-oncogene or a tumor suppressor gene? Justify your answer based on the function of the HER2 protein (look it up). b. How does amplification of HER2 promote cancer? c. Some HER2+ cancers have become resistant to the antibody drug. These cells were found to have mutations of the PTEN gene (look for information about the PTEN gene). Are these likely to be recessive loss of function mutations or dominant gain of function mutations of PTEN? Justify your answer, relating PTEN mutations to drug resistance.

1. Cancer genetics Breast cancers can be divided into several classes. One type of breast cancer, classified as HER2 positive ("HER2+"), represents 15-20% of breast cancers. Most HER2+ cancers arise due to amplification of the HER2 gene (without any mutation of the HER2 protein coding region). HER2 amplification is also associated with several other types of cancer (e.g. stomach cancer). Would the HER2 gene be considered a proto-oncogene or a tumor suppressor gene? Justify your answer based on the function of the HER2 protein (look it up). b. How does amplification of HER2 promote cancer? c. Some HER2+ cancers have become resistant to the antibody drug. These cells were found to have mutations of the PTEN gene (look for information about the PTEN gene). Are these likely to be recessive loss of function mutations or dominant gain of function mutations of PTEN? Justify your answer, relating PTEN mutations to drug resistance.

Biology: The Dynamic Science (MindTap Course List)

4th Edition

ISBN:9781305389892

Author:Peter J. Russell, Paul E. Hertz, Beverly McMillan

Publisher:Peter J. Russell, Paul E. Hertz, Beverly McMillan

Chapter16: Regulation Of Gene Expression

Section: Chapter Questions

Problem 9TYK

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In Metastatic Breast Cancer [such as in Breast Invasive Ductal Carcinoma; Breast Invasive Carcinoma, NOS; Breast Invasive Cancer, NOS; Invasive Breast Carcinoma; Breast Invasive Lobular Carcinoma; Breast Mixed Ductal and Lobular Carcinoma] what role does the genes Tp53 and Tp63 have? Would one of them affect the other (i.e. mutation, etc) or there is not relationship among the two genes at all.
One major goal of modern cancer therapy is toidentify small molecules—anticancer drugs—that canbe used to inhibit the products of specific cancer-criticalgenes. If you were searching for such molecules, wouldyou design inhibitors for the products of oncogenes orthe products of tumor suppressor genes? Explain why youwould (or would not) select each type of gene.
Two genes associated with breast cancer, BRCA1 and BRCA2, were discovered in 1994 and 1995, respectively, and shortly thereafter, were patented by Myriad Genetics, a company based in Utah. Under the patents, testing for mutations in these genes could only be performed by Myriad, at costs from 300 to 3,000. Myriad also patented the process of analyzing the results of such tests, preventing anyone who obtains the sequence of their BRCA genes by other means (which itself would probably be patent infringement) from interpreting the information. The idea that genes can be patented has been a contentious issue from the beginning. Patents are not granted for products of nature, meaning that genes inside the body are not patentable, but biotech companies successfully argued that by removing a gene from the human body, purifying it, and then obtaining its DNA sequence, they created something not found in nature, and which is therefore a patentable invention. The U.S. Patent Office found the argument persuasive, but opponents argue that genes are parts of our bodies and can be identified but not invented. Biotech companies argue that without the protection offered by patents, they would have no incentive for research and development of diagnostic tests. In Europe, patents for BRCA1 and BRCA2 were revoked in 2004 because they did not meet the standards for a patent. After more than a decade of legal disputes, the patents were partially restored in 2008 on a very restricted basis. In the United States, a lawsuit, focused on the patents for the BRCA genes, was filed in May 2009. The suit challenges the basic idea that genes are patentable. In November 2009, the judge ruled that the lawsuit can proceed, and the case is moving forward. In March 2010, a federal court invalidated Myriad Genetics patent on these genes. In August 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals reversed the lower courts decision and ruled that gene sequences isolated from cells are not a product of nature and are therefore patentable. The case went to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ordered the appeals court to reconsider the case. The Federal Appeals Court did not change its decision, and the case once again, went to the U.S. Supreme Court. A unanimous decision in June 2013 invalidated Myriads patents on the basis that isolating a gene from nature does not make it patentable. This is a landmark decision on gene patenting with widespread ramifications for the biotechnoloogy industry. Will this decision reduce the incentives for companies to invest in new diagnostic tests that would be used by cancer victims or those with serious genetic disorders?
1. Bioinformatics analyses of the genomes of cancer cells from many different patients with different types of cancer indicate that the vast majority of the detected mutations do not appear to contribute to cancer. Why is this property so common in cancer cells? Group of answer choices Cells can only turn into malignant cancer cells if they substantially increase the frequency of the occurrence of random mutations in their genome. These mutations are important for cancer, but their effects have not yet been discovered. This is a result from the fact that cells can become cancerous through many different “mutational routes” involving mutations in different oncogenes and different tumor suppressor genes. Cancer cells need to acquire multiple mutations (in most cases at least 6 different mutations) to become malignant.
1.) What is one type of cell that CANNOT arise from the differentiation of a mesenchymal stem cell? A. A neuron B. A muscle cell C. An egg cell D. A bone cell 2. there is the statement: "Both stem cells and specialized cells have all the same genes. They differ in the regulation of those genes and express very different sets of genes ". Which one of the following explanations best accounts for this difference in stem cell and specialized cell gene expression? A. Stem cells and specialized cells have different activators and repressors that affect transcription B. Stem cells and specialized cells have different promoter sequences for their genes, thus affecting transcription C. Stem cells and specialized cells have different ribosomes that affect translation D. Stem cells and specialized cells use different start codons on mRNAs, thus affecting translation
With regard to cancer cells, which of the following statementsare true?A. Cancer cells are clonal, which means they are derived from asingle mutant cell.B. To become cancerous, cells usually accumulate multiplegenetic changes that eventually result in uncontrolledgrowth.C. Most cancers are caused by oncogenic viruses.D. Cancer cells have lost the ability to properly regulate celldivision.
1. How do muscle cells remain differentiated as muscle cells? 2. A mutation occurs in the Drosophila doublesex gene that prevents Tra from binding to the dsx RNA transcript. What would be the consequences of this mutation for Dsx protein expression in males? In females?
5. Please discuss the effect of epigenetic posttranslational modifications on cancer development according to the reading article week 10. Would you think that epigenetic posttranslational modifications could be used as potential therapeutic cancer agents?
1. a)Proteins that stimulate/promote progression through the cell cycle are encoded by (oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes). Boldface one. b)Proteins that inhibit progression through the cell cycle are encoded by (oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes). Boldface one. c)What is the difference between a proto-oncogene and an oncogene? d)To cause cancer, proto-oncogenes require (1 or 2)allele(s) to be mutated and therefore are considered (dominant or recessive). The mutation results in a (loss or gain) of function. For each underlined pair, boldface one. e)To cause cancer, tumor suppressor genes require (1 or 2)allele(s) to be mutated and therefore are considered (dominant or recessive). The mutation results in a (loss or gain) of function. For each underlined pair, boldface one.
A woman has just been diagnosed with breast cancer. Her doctor tells her that while cancer is a multifactorial disease, she carries the breast cancer susceptibility gene, BRCA1. One of her two identical twin 19-year-old daughters is afraid that she also may have inherited the gene.-What considerations would you give her daughter who is worried about inheriting the cancer gene?
Tumor suppressor genes and oncogenes are implicated in carcinogenesis. However, one can predict whether a gene potentially encodes for a protein that influences carcinogenesis by examining their mutational profile. You sequence the genome of 4 cancers and identify 3 genes of interest. Which of the following genes has the best potential to an oncogene? Tumor 1 Tumor 2 Tumor 3 Tumor 4 Gene A S24F, N465T R33T T345S, G366R P367E, P368Y Gene B S34R, F360I S34R V254I S34E, T67Y Gene C S24F, I322E C255I, E344D S34E, P367E
1. A neuron and a white cell have very different functions. For example, a neuron can receive and respond to electrical signals while a white cell defends the body because it ___________.to. the proteins in neurons are completely different from those in the white cell.b. neurons and white cells in an individual have the same genome.c. the neuron expresses some mRNAs that the white cell does not express.d. Both neurons and white cells are already differentiated cells that do not need to transcribe or translate genes. 2. Which of the following is the main reason for a typical eukaryotic gene to be able to respond to a greater variety of regulatory signals than a typical prokaryotic gene or operon?to. eukaryotes have three types of RNA polymeraseb. RNA polymerases in eukaryotes require general and unspecific transcription factorsc. the transcription of a gened. prokaryotic genes are packed in nucleosomes 3. The distinctive characteristics of different types of cells in a multicellular…