Conduct some research on BRCA1 and the genetics of cancer (remember to write dow

Question

Conduct some research on BRCA1 and the genetics of cancer (remember to write down your sources).

Read the following article, “The Epigenetics of Breast Cancer.”

Start your discussion post with an explanation of how inheritance of a gene that increases risk of cancer does not lead to the certainty of cancer. In this paragraph, include a discussion of the steps that need to occur from a cellular and genetic perspective for cancer to occur.

After reading the article, answer the following questions in a paragraph. You can also use your text and other sources, just remember to write down any sources you use and include them as references in your post.

Briefly describe differential gene expression in cancer cells versus noncancerous cells.

What is epigenetics, and how does it relate to gene expression?

Would sequencing the DNA of a cancerous tumor allow a doctor to know whether there were changes in gene expression in a tumor?

In your third paragraph, describe two methods you could use to study gene expression in cancerous versus noncancerous cells. Based on the article above, what patterns might you look for to predict whether a tumor was cancerous?

Finally, reflect on DNA sequence analysis. If given the choice to determine whether you had the BRCA1 gene, would you do it? What are the benefits and the risks?

Explanation / Answer

BRCA1 is a gene that encodes a tumor supressor protein and prevents abnormal cell proliferation. BRCA1 protein is also involved in DNA repair.Mutations in BRCA1 gene are associated with breast cancer and some other cancers.

Inheriting a gene that increases cancer risk does not lead to certainity of developing the disease. This is due to play of various factors that regulate the gene. External stimuli like environment, genotype,immune system, epigenetics and other factors have a role to play in regulating a gene.For instance, if one copy of gene has the mutation but the other copy is normal , then the mutation does not show effect. Epigenetics for instance, DNA methylation can silence the mutation. Histone modification via methylation, acetylation,phosphorylation,deamination also .control gene regulation and determines transcription potential of a gene.

Gene expression profiling pattern of cancerous cells is very likely to different from non cancerous cells. Many genes might be abnormally expressed in cancerous cells or some tumor suppressor genes that prevent cancers might not be expressed or expressed at very low levels compared to non cancerous cells.

Sequencing of DNA can help with both diagnostic and treatment plan for cancer. By sequencing the implicated genes, mutations in the oncogene product can be studied compared to normal gene product. Functional basis of the mutation can be allocated and therapy can be devised based on the targetted mutated sequence of protein.

Cancerous and non-cancerous cells can be distinguished by differential gene expression. This can be done by DNA microarrays enabling high throughput gene expression, and can determine which genes are abnormally expressed compared to non-cancerous cells.

Western Blotting can also be used to detect specific proteins via antibodies specific to the protein.This can help in analyzing role of specific proteins involved in cancerous cells.

Persons having a family history of breast cancer should definitely get tested fro BRCA1 mutations or persons from specific population groups.This can help determining the risk of developing the disease and continued monitoring for people with higher risk.

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