Question

Please tell me how one cell in your body became a cancer cell. The story you tell should lead to troat cancer, be DETAILED, and include all of the following:

•A timeline for transformation from normal to cancer cell (1)

•Specific genes that when mutated will increase cancer risk (genes like p53, Rb, Cyclin, Kras) (2)

•One gene must be MET and describes a mutation in this gene and use it to characterize effects on cell cycle control, apoptosis, or metastasis.

* Whether each mutation that causes cancer is LOF or GOF (2)

* How LOF or GOF will specifically decrease cell cycle control, decrease ability to initiate apoptosis, or increase probability of metastasis (8)

* Whether the gene is a tumor suppressor or oncogene (2)

•Your story must include 6 mutant forms of your chosen genes so that it reaches 6 hits

example of a story:

• I was born with every cell of my body having a mutation in the Chk1 gene….1 hit
• One adult stem cell in my pancreas was exposed to a carcinogen while I was being breastfed by my Mom. This carcinogen caused a LOF mutation to occur in one copy of the BRCA1 gene of that cell (1 hit).
• While a teenager, I was exposed to radiation which caused a GOF mutation in CDC20 (1 hit) which could lead to early onset anaphase. But likely the other checkpoints in the cell cycle of this cell are still okay.
• Sadly, I started smoking when I was 20 and another LOF mutation occurred in CHK1 of the adult stem cell I have been reporting on. This means that this CHK1 protein no longer acts as a checkpoint to inhibit cdc25… meaning that CDK-cyclin will not pause if there is DNA damage from G1->S or G2->M. This adult stem cell is starting to divide more than its neighbors (total of 4 hits)
• I continued to smoke and since my cells are less likely to pause to fix the DNA of this adult stem cell it received another LOF mutation, but this time in the BRCA1 gene. Now my cells will be less able to pause in the cell cycle and initiate DNA repair. 5 hits total
• This pancreatic adult stem cell is dividing out of control and likely mutating more frequently… cancer.

Answer 1

The normal cells have controlled growth,movement in them is inhibited with contact,These differentiated cells have fixed lifespan.Their multiplication is carefully regulated.Occasionally, These controls are lost.Consequently the cell begins to grow and divide erratically resulting in a mass of cells termed as tumours.This abnormal mass of cells rendered to as neoplasm,which may be Benign or malignant.By definition, cancer is a group of syndromes that a're caused by mutations in somatic cells.Tumour is a purpose less growth of tissue that tends to be atypical of the parent,autonomous and aggressive. Study of tumours is called oncology.

Characteristics of malignant tumours or cancers:

Cancer cells are characterized by indefinite growth,evading apoptosis,without contact inhibition,unlimited growth potential due to over abundance of telomerase.Telomere are found at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes.The telomere contain condensed DNA material,giving stability to the chromosome,increased cell division rate,altered ability to differentiate, spherical shape ,abnormal antigens on the surface of the cells,unusual number of chromosomes and ability toninvsding nighbering tissues.Cancers are most common in fast dividing tissues like epithelium.Cadherins are the intracellular adhesion protein molecules that play a part in keeping cells together.In cancer cells,cadherin protein molecules are either partly or entirely missing.This allows cancer cells to detach from each other from the matrix.So they lose contact with other cells in the tissue.This enables the cancer to spread to other areas.

TNM staging is used for to staging the cancer,The stages of cancer are initiation, promotion andprogression.The first mutation in the normal cell initiates the cancer.The second mutations lead to promotion of cancer,we'd cause progression and 4th mutation affects the cancer.

Humans had Some suppressor genes also in the genome.For example gene p53 is a gene that codes for a protein the inhibits the development and growth of tumours.Mutation of proto-oncogens are dominant .The protein p53 plays an important role with reference to the G1 check point in the regulation of cell division cycle.It guards the integrity of the DNA. It stops cell division and helps repair and damaged DNA,if the damage is repaired,the p53 protein allows the cell to enter the S phase.