|
An oncogene is a gene that has the potential to cause cancer.〔Wilbur, Beth, editor. The World of the Cell, Becker, W.M., et al., 7th ed. San Francisco, CA; 2009.〕 In tumor cells, they are often mutated or expressed at high levels.〔(Kimball's Biology Pages. ) "Oncogenes" Free full text〕 Most normal cells will undergo a programmed form of rapid cell death (apoptosis) when critical functions are altered. Activated oncogenes can cause those cells designated for apoptosis to survive and proliferate instead.〔(The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2002. ) Illustrated presentation.〕 Most oncogenes require an additional step, such as mutations in another gene, or environmental factors, such as viral infection, to cause cancer. Since the 1970s, dozens of oncogenes have been identified in human cancer. Many cancer drugs target the proteins encoded by oncogenes.〔〔(The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1989 ) to J. Michael Bishop and Harold E. Varmus for their discovery of "the cellular origin of retroviral oncogenes".〕 ==History== The first theory of oncogenes was given by Danish physicist Niels Henrik Arley (1938-40 scientific private secretary for Niels Bohr. 1947-53 head of Copenhagen University geophysics research) at around 1950, but was rejected by contemporaries as nonsense. Later on the term "oncogene" was rediscovered in 1969 by National Cancer Institute scientists, George Todaro and Robert Heubner.〔The Emperor of All Maladies, Siddhartha Mukherjee, 2011, p. 363, endnote.〕 The first confirmed oncogene was discovered in 1970 and was termed src (pronounced ''sarc'' as in ''sarcoma''). Src was in fact first discovered as an oncogene in a chicken retrovirus. Experiments performed by Dr. G. Steve Martin of the University of California, Berkeley demonstrated that the Src was indeed the oncogene of the virus.〔The Hunting of the Src, G. Steven Martin, Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology 2: 467 (2001)〕 The first nucleotide sequence of v-src was sequenced in 1980 by A.P. Czernilofsky et al.〔(A.P. Czernilofsky et al., 1980, Nature Vol 287, pp 198-203).〕 In 1976 Drs. Dominique Stehelin, J. Michael Bishop and Harold E. Varmus of the University of California, San Francisco demonstrated that oncogenes were activated proto-oncogenes, found in many organisms including humans. For this discovery, proving Todaro and Heubner's "oncogene theory", Bishop and Varmus were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1989.〔(Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for 1989 jointly to J. Michael Bishop and Harold E. Varmus for their discovery of "the cellular origin of retroviral oncogenes". ) Press Release.〕 Oncoproteins are any proteins coded by an oncogene and they play an important role in the regulation or synthesis of proteins linked to tumorigenic cell growth. Some oncoproteins are accepted and used as tumor markers 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「oncogene」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|