BIOL201 Lecture Notes - Lecture 23: Tumor Suppressor Gene, Oncogene, Metastasis
3 Feb 2016
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Document Summary
Causes of cancer: oncogenes, tumor suppressor genes, viruses. Anchorage and density independent growth occurs in cancer cells if you put them in a plate they must stay anchored. Cells are density-dependent: because cells are touching one another they will stop growing. They lay out flat on the surface (anchorage dependence). Cancerous cells are not density dependent and they don"t need anchorage. Mutations interfere with signals to stop dividing (checkpoint control type of signals, cells become insensitive to the signals) Mutations promote constant cell division (hyperactivity of pathways that promote the cell cycle. Independence of a signal they cell can activate growth signaling pathways. ) The cells have the ability to keep on growing through multiple rounds of replication (infinite). As time goes by the activity of telomerase (y) is lost. As cell becomes cancerous they start to retain telomerase activity (straight line). In many tumors telomerase is upregulated to lengthen telomeres. Pre-test: angiogenesis refers to: growth of blood vessels.
