For years people have been looking for a cure for the devastating disease of cancer. Cancer is the third highest killer in the US with over 2,500,000 victims per year. Oncologists and scientists around the country are researching all forms of cancer in an effort to understand, treat, and ultimately defeat this disease. Already there have been numerous advances in the field, such as chemotherapy and gene therapy. One advance has been the use of a cell process known as apoptosis. By harnessing this normal cell process, scientists hope to have found an effective way to combat cancer.
Cancer is a disease that affects human somatic cells. It causes the cells to divide uncontrollably and form masses known as tumors. There are two different types of cancer tumors. Some tumors are benign and other tumors are malignant. Benign tumors look similar to the tissues that they came from and develop slowly. The tumor remains in the same area that the tumor originated in. Malignant tumors are formed from cells that do not resemble the tissue that they came from. They vary in shape and size. This enables pieces of the tumor to break off and spread to other places in the body. Over the past few decades cancer has become a very prominent disease. There are many different types of cancer and many different causes for the the disease. Most cancers are because of a genetic mutation. The most common type occur when a cell is dividing. Proto-oncogenes, which are alleles in a normal cells, mutate to form oncogenes. These oncogenes cause cancer because they do not allow the cells to self destruct or become epistatic. There have been several research projects which have been testing epistatis.
Transfecting DNA
To perform the experiments for this re...
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...wth of both normal and malignant cells. The limited research that has been performed using these cells has yielded contradictory results: some results say that the alpha5beta1 integrins destroy cancer cells, other results have shown that cell division and other necessary cell functions have been encouraged by the integrin. But the research has predominantly shown that the results of the expression of alpha5beta1 integrins yield beneficial results in terms of cancer tumor reduction. More research needs to be done, but the knowledge obtained from this experiment that alpha5beta1 integrin prevents premature cell death is an excellent step forward in the fight against cancer. There are untold possibilities of the medical applications of not only alpha5beta1 integrins, but all of the many integrins and cell adhesion molecules that play important roles in cell function.
Altman, Lawrence K. ìShark Substance Found to Limit Tumor Growth.î New York Times 1 May 1996: A15.
The cancer stem cell theory hypothesizes that tumors or cancers arise from mutations or epigenetic changes in normal stem cells. These mutated or genetically altered stem cells possess the properties of the normal stem cells such as the ability to self-renew, differentiate into any type of body cell, and resist apoptosis. Hence, the cancer stem cells (CSC) are named so. It is also suggested that because of the above-mentioned properties of the cancer stem cells, the current anti-cancer therapies are not entirely successful (Gil et al, 2008). Despite surgery and other therapies, even if very few of these cancer stem cells survive, they can continue to act as a source for more tumors, even though the therapies eliminate all visible signs of cancer.
Chemotherapy is the treatment of a tumor with chemical agents to reduce mass or eradicate a tumor completely. There are certain mechanisms by which chemotherapy inhibits cancer. The first mechanism is cell death by cytotoxicity. Some chemical agents in certain amounts are toxic to cells. The cells die due to the toxic...
Cancer is the term used to describe a group of diseases consisting of hundreds of ailments and although there exists so many different types of cancer, they all begin in a similar way. The body is made up of over a trillion cells, and cancer is the uncontrolled growth of malfunctioning cells in the body (Dawson, 1996). “Normal body cells grow, divide, and die in an orderly fashion. During the early years of a person’s life, normal cells divide faster to allow the person to grow. After the person becomes an adult, most cells divide only to replace worn-out or dying cells or to repair injuries” (American Cancer Society, 2012).
As modern humans, we understand that the quality of our health is affected by the negative impacts, such as air pollution, water and food. Science is developing in much faster way but at the same time number of problems are also arising. Problems like infectious diseases, diseases without any treatment or whose treatments are available up to a lesser extent such as Lung cancer, prostate cancer, skin cancer, ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, penile cancer etc. Cancer is responsible for one in seven deaths. It is epidemic disease thefore its consequences can be seen worldwide. More than twelve million new cases diagnosed yearly and the rate is increasing much faster (Hegde, j.j. 2009). Large number of patients die after developing cancer despite the availabity of various treatments, therefore there is a increase demand for a developing new approaches to cancer therapy. There are number of treatments available but the problem is that they have number of side effects, disturbance or effect on the norm...
INTRODUCTION: Apoptosis is a distinct form of a programmed cell death ( PCD) and defect in apoptosis are now thought to contribute to the development and progression of cancer. Regarding the keen interest in programmed cell death in the last years, more and more assays and commercial kits are emerging to prove apoptosis. However, their detectability and reliability have been often discussed. Here we introduce rapid and simple method for evaluating apoptosis in cancer researches and genotoxicities. METHODS: NIH-3T3 cell line were used in this study, after treatment with apoptotic agent, DNA was extracted by simple protocol. Then DNA ladder and flow cytometry assays were done for detection of apoptosis in NIH-3T3 cell line. RESULT: Primary and late apoptosis in the treated cells was determined by flow cytometry analysis. Accordingly DNA ladder assay using 1.5 % gel electrophoresis showed fragmentation in the DNA of treated cells. CONCLUSSION: This research provides a fast, simple and cost-effective method in observing apoptosis in mammalian cells and could be use in cancer research and genotoxicity.
When it comes to the topic of cancer, it is one of the most deadly diseases someone can ever contract. Cancer occurs when the cells divide and spread uncontrollably in the body creating clusters that have no space to go and eventually create a tumor (a swelling of a part of the body, generally without inflammation, caused by an abnormal growth of tissue, whether benign or malignant) that needs to be removed surgically. Depending on whether the procedure is successful or not, if it is, we can use a remedy for accelerated cell reproduction. Accelerated cell reproduction is the process of increasing and improving the reproduction and regenerative rate of cells so that they can perform the task of replacing lost or damaged cells, wounds, scrapes, healing scars, etc. As one uses snake venom to cure a snake bite, one can also use an acceleration of cell reproduction to cure cancer which involves cells accelerating and going in the wrong direction. People wonder why we have such terrible diseases such as cancer still abroad. It is because accelerated cell reproduction has not been put into effect. If it gets put into effect then we will have a starting point in our research to success. This will be the beginning of a new era if such a phenomenon were to place.
B16F10 cells were injected into hairless mice and the tumors allowed to grow. The average volume was 77 mm3. After a week, PBS, Ce6, Cdot-Ce6, or Cdot-C36-HA was topically administered to the tumor and washed with DI water. The tumors were then irradiated with a 660 nm laser on one side only and tumor growth was monitored. Finally, the tumors were removed and evaluated for tumor apoptosis.
Tumors are formed by the alteration of the body’s own cells. This can be caused by environmental factors such as radiation, like UV exposure, chemicals or viruses 1. These can disrupt genes that control growth and cause an increase in cell division and proliferation. Proto-oncogenes are those genes that control normal but essential cell processes that keep cell growth and death in check. Two important categories are apoptosis genes, which regulate cell death, and tumor suppressor genes, which decrease cell propagation 1 . If these genes were mutated to the point where they cannot produce a functioning protein, cell division would continue far past what it was supposed to and unhealthy cells would be allowed to live and continue to multiply. This is what creates a malignant tumor. Certain conditions in the body can also promote the growth of cancer cells. One of these is a deficiency of natural killer (NK) cells, which are able to kill cancer cells by creating a pore in the cell membrane with perforin and releasing granzymes into the cell. Low levels of perforin allow for tumor growth 1. Chronic inflammation can also ...
Healthy cells grow and divide in a way to keep your body functioning properly. But when a cell is damaged and becomes cancerous, cells continue to divide, even when new cells aren't...
Throughout the years, apoptosis has been thoroughly studied and investigated by millions of scientists around the world. Throughout people’s knowledge of cells, the cell cycle, mitosis and meiosis, and viruses, there are still questions that we ask. These questions can range from why doesn’t a human continue to grow when we produce millions of cells, what happens to cells that fail the mitosis and meiosis checkpoints, and what happens to the cells that are infected by viruses. The answer to these common and educational questions is all in the process known as apoptosis. Apoptosis is the death of cells that occurs as a normal and controlled part of an organism's growth or development. The common questions that people ask about the cell process
The cancer cells from gene-mutation. Scientists now know some of the risk factors for lung cancer can cause certain changes in the DNA of lung cells. These changes can lead to not normal cell growth and, sometimes, cancer. DNA is the chemical in each of our cells that makes up our genes and how our cells function. People usually look like their parents because they are the source of our DNA. But DNA affects more than how we look; it also can affect our risk for developing certain diseases, including some kinds of cancer like lung cancer etc…Some people inherit DNA mutation from their parents that greatly increase their risk for developing certain cancers.
BE (colon carcinoma), LS174T (colon carcinoma), SW962 (squamous cell carcinoma), WM266.4 (melanoma), A375P, and A375m2(melanoma) cells were analyzed to test for cell invasion relative to the controls used.
Cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in the body. Tumors are then created and interfering with the digestive, nervous and circulatory systems. It is one of the most leading causes of death, reaching at about 8.2 million deaths in 2012. It is expected that cancer will rise from 14 million to 22 million within the next 2 decades. With over 100 cancer research centers in the United States studying how to treat this disease, people need to understand the importance of donating also with the awareness of signs and symptoms in the early stages. But, what are we doing about it? Do we have the technology to finally be able to put this deadly disease to an end?
Because 7.6 million people die from cancer every year, action should be taken to find a permanent and effective cure. There is no reason why cancer patients should not receive effective and affordable treatment. Even though there are cancer treatments currently, these treatments being effective, they are costly and cause great pain to the patient.