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| gene whose loss or inactiviation by deletion or mutation can lead to cancer. |
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| cell whose nucleus contains chromosomes derived from two different cells that were joined together by the technique of cell fusion. |
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| tumor suppressor gene coding for the Rb protein. |
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| protein that, when not bound to the Rb protein, actives the transceiption of genes coding for proteins required for DNA replication and entrance into S phase of the cell cycle. |
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| tumor suppressor gene that codes for the p53 protein, a transcription factor involved in preventing genetically damaged cells from proliferating; most frequently mutated gene in human cancers; also called the TP53 gene in humans. |
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| protein kinase activated by damaged DNA; plays a central role in the DNA damage response by catalyzing the phosphorylation of p53 and several other target proteins. |
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| small protein that is linked to other proteins as a way of marking the targeted protein fro degradation by proteasomes. |
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| Cdk inhibitor that halts progression through the cell cycle by inhibiting serveral different Cdk-cyclins. |
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| Puma (not the large wild cat:)) |
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| protein involved in triggering cell death by apoptosis; expression of the gene encoding for Puma is activated by p53. |
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| protein produced by an oncogene present in human papillomavirus (HPV) that binds to a cell's normal p53 protein, therefore targeting it for destruction. |
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| signalling pathway that plays a prominent role in controlling cell proliferation and differentiation during embryonic development; abnormalities in this pathway occur in some cancers. |
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| phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase or PI3K) |
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| enzyme that catalyzes the addition of a phophate group to the plasma membrane lipid PIP2, thereby converting it into PIP3. |
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| abbreviation for the plasma lipid phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-triphosphate; component of the PI3K-Akt pathway. |
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| enzyme that removes a phophate group from PIP3, thereby converting it to PIP2; inhibitor of the PI3K-Akt pathway. |
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| signalling pathway in which the binding of transforming growth factor beta (TGFbeta) to its cell surface receptor leads to the phosphorylation of Smad proteins that move into the nucleus and activate the expression of genes that inhibit cell proliferation; two key genes produce the Cdk-inhibiting proteins p15 and p21. |
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| Cdk inhibitor that halts progession through thte cell cycle by inhibiting several different Cdk-cyclins. |
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| any of the three possible ways of reading a sequence of bases in messemger RNA as a series of triplets, depending on the starting point. |
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| protein produced by the CDKN2A gene that binds to and promotes the degradation of Mdm2, which is the protein that normally targets the p53 protein for destruction. |
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| class of tumor suppressor genes that are involved in DNA repair or chromosome sorting; loss-of-function mutations in such genes comtribute to genetic instability. |
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| tumor suppressor genes in which inheritance of a single mutant copy creates a high risk for breast and ovarian cancer; code for proteins involved in repairing double-stranded breaks in DNA. |
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| Rad50 exonuclease complex |
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| multiprotein complex involved in the first phase of the pathway for repairing double-stranded DNA breaks by homologous recombination; removes nucleotides from one strand of the double helix to expose a single-stranded segment on the opposite strand. |
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| containing an abnormal number of chromosomes. |
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| mechanism that halts mitosis at the junction between metaphase and anaphase if chromosomes are not properly attached to the spindle. |
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| stage of mitosis when the chromosomes move toward opposite poles of the mitotic spindle. |
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| family of proteins that, along with Mad proteins, trasmit a "wait" signal that inhibits that anaphase-promoting complex from initiatingg chromosome movement before all chromosomes are properly attached to the mitotic spindle. |
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| alteration in cellular properties brought about by a change in gene expression rather than by gene mutation. |
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| addition of methyl groups to nucleotides in DNA; leads to epigenetic silencing of gene transcription when methyl groups are attached to the base C at sites where it is located adjacent to the base G. |
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