Researchers from the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Centre at the University of California have discovered the mechanism that switches on genetic instability in cells. In the study, cells were exposed to radiation in order to create “double strand breaks” which cause genetic instability, thus determining if the instability that occurred was limited to a particular area of the genome or if it showed elsewhere. It was found that DNA damage at a specific site in the genome caused “a certain mechanism of genetic instability all over the genome”. Previously it was thought that genetic instability would only occur at the point of the break. Furthermore, the researchers showed that the “mechanism induced by the radiation is independent of the actual damage caused by the radiation”.
Genetic instability often occurs when genes that control cell growth are altered by an event such as radiation. Consequently, cells may divide uncontrollably leading to the formation of a tumour and even cancer. As a result of the discovery of the mechanism that switches on genetic instability, further research can be undertaken to identify the “molecular pathways at work”. This could lead to the trialling of drugs to inhibit the genes that cause the instability in cancerous cells and ultimately a treatment for cancer.
Student ID: 42062204
University of California - Los Angeles (2009, March 25). Discovery May Result In New Test To Determine Predisposition To Cancer. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 29, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2009/03/090325091836.htm
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