In: Biology
QUESTION 3
1. Describe the normal cellular functions of tumor suppressor genes and explain their roles in cancer. List all possible mechanisms by which tumor suppressor genes are inactivated and explain. Explain why loss-of-heterozygosity of a particular chromosome/chromosomal region in tumor DNA suggests the existence of a tumor suppressor gene in that region.
2. Why is pRB function compromised in human tumors through mutations of its encoding gene while the genes encoding its two cousins, p170 and p130, have virtually never been found to suffer mutations in the genomes of cancer cells?