What is a suicide gene?

One of the challenges of cancer treatment is how to destroy malignant tumors without damaging healthy cells. The new method that shows a great promise to achieve this goal uses the use of a suicide gene. A suicide gene is a gene that causes the cell to kill with apoptosis or programmed cell death (PCD). PCD is a number of biochemical events that cause the cell membrane dissolution, the cell shrinks and fragment of the nucleus and DNA. This process also ensures cleaning of cellular residues of the body. The therapy with an enzyme with a gene control gene (GDEPT) uses a gene taken from cancer cell and then modified with other genes to create enzymes that are harmless to healthy cells. This foreign enzyme is inserted into tumor cells, where it releases the shed, a small molecule harmless to healthy cells, but destructive to cancer cells. The modified suicide gene transforms non -toxic pricking into a cytotoxic substance.

The second method of suicide gene therapy is called enzyme therapy focused on the virus. It uses a virus, a Herpes simplex or a cold virus, such as a carrier or vector, to supply modified genes to cancer cells. The study conducted by the Methodist Neurological Institute in Texas will use herpes virus to supply suicidal genes to brain tumors. Patients will have Valtrex, a drug used to treat herpes virus. Suicide genes are expected to divide tumor cells to such an extent than when the medicine treats herpes carrier, the cell should be destroyed.

Therapy by a suicide gene is not necessarily expected to completely eliminate the need for chemotherapy and radiation therapy in all cancerous tumors. However, damage caused by tumor cells is more susceptible to chemo or radiation. This approach has already proven itself against prostate and bladder cancer. The application of a suicide gene therapy also extends to several other forms of cancer.

PatiaCancer NTI often experiences depressive immune systems, so that some side effects of the virus can suffer as a delivery agent. Experiments were made using the polymer as an alternative carrier. Polymer is a biomaterial that mimics the virus but is safer as a delivery agent. This also proved to be effective in bladder and prostate cancer.

The existence of another kind of suicidal gene is also expressed as a possible explanation for higher cases of suicide in some families. While most psychiatrists believe that suicide can have several causal factors, there is a tendency towards a higher example of suicide between related parties and in some geographical regions. For example, the suicide rate in Hungary and Finland is higher than in any other number of reports.

20-year-old Canadian study of patients treated with depression found that patients with serotonin-2 (5-ht2A) gene mutation were twice as often as patients without this genetichim the difference. Patients with serotonin mutation had excessive receptors, which led to incorrect serotonin absorption. Studies have also shown that patients with two genes, Grik2 and Gria3 variants were more often than other patients to attempt suicide in certain antidepressants.