Oncogenes, antioncogenes, and the regulation of cell growth.
A variety of proto-oncogenes are present in normal cells, and many of these genes are expressed in different cell types in a tissue-specific and developmentally specific fashion. Although proto-oncogenes have normal functions, apparently related to cell proliferation and differentiation, these genes are able to cause cancer when they are expressed inappropriately (usually as a result of a mutation). Most oncogene mutations promote tumor growth by inducing autonomous activity of proteins, which normally transmit growth signals that are triggered by extracellular factors. Studies of oncogenes and suppressor genes (antioncogenes) have greatly contributed to our understanding of the regulation of normal cell growth by focusing on the molecular mechanisms by which the signals for cell proliferation exert their effects.
Carbone
M
M
Section on Viruses and Cellular Biology, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
Levine
A S
AS