3. Week 2: Cancer and Apoptosis

Lecture 3 - 643 - Dr. Faridi

The biology of cancer

• Define it

• Example image of cancer cell liver:

  • Abnormal - liver in image does not reflect normal liver structure

  • Uncontrolled growth - expanded/cluster of nodules

  • Spread - not called cancer until it develops the ability to spread

    • the nodules on the liver are stomach metastasis - liver unable to function as liver

• Cancer is a group of diseases, not one thing or one type of treatment- all have different etiology and cause

  • “Breast cancer (BC)”

  • “Estrogen receptor + BC”

What are the 6 basic properties of cancer cells

x

Self-sufficient in growth signals

• recall GF is a ligand for a RTK

• therefore

Process of normal colon cells to malignancy

Tumorigenesis - multistep process involving

Cancer stem cells (CSC)

Cell death

• Necrosis - not planned

  • Passive consequence of gross injury to a tissue

  • resulting from

    • tissue damage

    • other pathology

  • Marked by

    • swelling

    • burst of cells

    • release of their contents

      • damages neighboring cells

• Apoptosis

  • actively driven by the cell

  • “programmed cell death”

    • organism is better off

  • Marked by

    • cell shrinking

    • membrane blebbing

    • cell fragmented in small membrane bound, apoptotic bodies

    • chromatin compaction

    • nuclear fragmentation

Other areas apoptosis occurs

Diseases with altered apoptosis

Apoptotic signaling pathway - extrinsic pathway

Apoptotic signaling pathway - intrinsic pathway

Define Caspases and Bcl-2 Family

Explain the normal pathways of:

• Absence of trophic factor - caspase activation

• Presence of trophic factor - inhibition of caspase activation

Restoration of apoptosis