Gene, suicide
Gene, suicide: A gene whose expression in a cell is lethal for that cell.
Suicide genes form the basis of a strategy for making cancer cells more vulnerable, more sensitive to chemotherapy. The approach has been to attach parts of genes expressed in cancer cells to other genes for enzymes not found in mammals that can convert a harmless substance into one that is toxic to the tumor.
Most suicide genes mediate this sensitivity by coding for viral or bacterial enzymes that convert an inactive drug into toxic antimetabolites that inhibit the synthesis of nucleic acid. Suicide genes must be introduced into cells in ways that ensure their uptake and expression by as many cancer cells as possible, while limiting their expression by normal cells. Suicide gene therapy for cancer requires the vector to have the capacity to discriminate between target and nontarget cells, between the cancer cells and normal cells.
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- Gene, Y-linked
Gene, Y-linked: A gene on the Y chromosome. (Y-linkage is analogous to X-linkage (the presence of a gene on the X chromosome) in that it says a gene is on one of the sex chromosomes.) It has often been said that little is known about genes that may be Y-linked. This is no longer true. […]
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Gene, zygotic lethal: A gene that is fatal for the zygote, the cell formed by the union of a sperm and an egg. The zygote would normally develop into an embryo, as instructed by the genetic material within the unified cell. However, a zygotic lethal gene kills prenatal development at its earliest point. A zygotic […]
- Gene-expression profiling
Gene-expression profiling: A genomic technique that based on the fact that only a fraction of the genes encoded in the genome of a cell are expressed by being transcribed into messenger RNA (mRNA). The complement of mRNAs in a cell largely dictates its complement of proteins. Consequently, gene expression is a major determinant of the […]
- General Clinical Research Center
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