Biology
183 - Cancer Biology
Thought
Questions for Exam 2
1. Describe
how the inheritance of mutated genes (or heredity) and pre-existing
disorders/diseases may contribute to the increase chance of carcinogenesis.
2. What
is the normal function of an activated p53?
Describe all the pathways that are activated by the expression and
activation of p53. What is the function
of each molecule throughout the pathway?
How would the mutation of p53 directly or indirectly lead to the formation
of cancer cells? Describe how the
mutation of p53 might affect each of the pathways discussed above.
3. How
do the following processes involved in carcinogenesis: growth, cell death, repair, and cell-cell
interaction? How do problems in each or all
of these pathways contribute to carcinogenesis?
4. Name
and describe mutated genes that have been linked to the various cancers. Describe the normal function of each gene
(before mutation) and explain why carcinogenesis may occur with the absence of
these functions.
5. Name
the type/types of genes that may be involved in carcinogenesis when
mutated. How do you think these mutated
genes may contribute to carcinogenesis?
6. Describe
the Cell Cycle Regulation of a normal, uninvolved cell versus that of a cancer
cell. What is a cell cycle? What are the various stages of a cell
cycle? How is the cell cycle regulated? What are the major protein families that are
involved in cell cycle regulation?
7. Compare
and contrast the major characteristics of a normal, uninvolved cell versus a
cancerous cell. What are the effects of
cell proliferations and apoptosis on these characteristics?
8. What
are the morphological and biochemical properties of cancerous cells? Are these properties restricted to cancer
cells? Are they exhibited in uninvolved
cells?
9. What
groups of proteins are likely to be involved in carcinogenesis when they are in
the mutated form? Why and how do they
affect carcinogenesis? What are their
normal functions in uninvolved cells?
10. What
is apoptosis? What is the function of
apoptosis? What happens when the
apoptotic pathway is inhibited?
11. What
is the normal function of the Rb protein? Describe how the mutation of Rb protein might increase the chance of carcinogenesis.
12. What
is cell cycle arrest? How is cell cycle
arrest regulated?
13. Discuss
the role of Receptor Tyrosine Kinases. How are they involved in normal cell
functions? How are they involved in
cancer cellular functions? How are they
connected to proteins like Akt/PKB, ras, and cyclin?