Answered: At what stage of the drug development…

At what stage of the drug development pathways can molecular conjugation and bioconjugation based drug optimisations take place?

Human Heredity: Principles and Issues (MindTap Course List)

11th Edition

ISBN:9781305251052

Author:Michael Cummings

Publisher:Michael Cummings

Chapter16: Reproductive Technology, Genetic Testing, And Gene Therapy

Section: Chapter Questions

Problem 13QP: The prospect of using gene therapy to alleviate genetic conditions is still a vision of the future....

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The prospect of using gene therapy to alleviate genetic conditions is still a vision of the future. Gene therapy for adenosine deaminase deficiency has proved to be quite promising, but many obstacles remain to be overcome. Currently, the correction of human genetic defects is done using retroviruses as vectors. For this purpose, viral genes are removed from the retroviral genome, creating a vector capable of transferring human structural genes into sites on human chromosomes within target-tissue cells. Do you see any potential problems with inserting pieces of a retroviral genome into humans? If so, are there ways to combat or prevent these problems?
Which of these statements is true? An antibiotic is any substance produced by a organism that is antagonistic to the growth of prokaryotes An antibiotic is any substance produced by a prokaryote that is antagonistic to the growth of other viruses An antibiotic is any substance produced by a prokaryote that is antagonistic to the growth of eukaryotic cells An antibiotic is any substance produced by a prokaryote that prevents growth of the same prokaryote.
Antibiotics and Protein Synthesis Antibiotics are molecules produced by microorganisms as defense mechanisms. The most effective antibiotics work by interfering with essential biochemical or reproductive processes. Many antibiotics block or disrupt one or more stages in protein synthesis. Some of these are mentioned here. Tetracyclines are a family of chemically related compounds used to treat several types of bacterial infections. Tetracyclines interfere with the initiation of translation. The tetracycline molecule attaches to the small ribosomal subunit and prevents binding of the tRNA anticodon during initiation. Both eukaryotic and prokaryotic ribosomes are sensitive to the action of tetracycline, but this antibiotic cannot pass through the plasma membrane of eukaryotic cells. Because tetracycline can enter bacterial cells to inhibit protein synthesis, it will stop bacterial growth, helping the immune system fight the infection. Streptomycin is used in hospitals to treat serious bacterial infections. It binds to the small ribosomal subunit but does not prevent initiation or elongation; however, it does affect the efficiency of protein synthesis. Binding of streptomycin changes the way mRNA codons interact with the tRNA. As a result, incorrect amino acids are incorporated into the growing polypeptide chain, producing nonfunctional proteins. In addition, streptomycin causes the ribosome to randomly fall off the mRNA, preventing the synthesis of complete proteins. Puromycin is not used clinically but has played an important role in studying the mechanism of protein synthesis in the research laboratory. The puromycin molecule is the same size and shape as a tRNA/amino acid complex. When puromycin enters the ribosome, it can be incorporated into a growing polypeptide chain, stopping further synthesis because no peptide bond can be formed between puromycin and an amino acid, causing the shortened polypeptide to fall off the ribosome. Chloramphenicol was one of the first broadspectrum antibiotics introduced. Eukaryotic cells are resistant to its actions, and it was widely used to treat bacterial infections. However, its use is limited to external applications and serious infections. Chloramphenicol destroys cells in the bone marrow, the source of all blood cells. In bacteria, this antibiotic binds to the large ribosomal subunit and inhibits the formation of peptide bonds. Another antibiotic, erythromycin, also binds to the large ribosomal subunit and inhibits the movement of ribosomes along the mRNA. Almost every step of protein synthesis can be inhibited by one antibiotic or another. Work on designing new synthetic antibiotics to fight infections is based on our knowledge of how the nucleotide sequence of mRNA is converted into the amino acid sequence of a protein. Questions Why is targeting protein synthesis an effective strategy for preventing infection?
Synthetic compounds found in an organism but not normally produced or expected to be present in that organism are called _____________. pesticides bioi emediators recalcitrant compounds xenobiotics
Although it is well known that X-rays cause mutations, they are routinely used to diagnose medical problems, including potential tumors, broken bones, and dental cavities. Why is this done? What precautions need to be taken?
The Adaptive Immune Response Is a Specific Defense Against Infection In cystic fibrosis gene therapy, scientists propose the use of viral vectors to deliver normal genes to cells in the lungs. What immunological risks are involved in this procedure?
A mutation that inactivates the repressor gene of the lac operon results in (a) the continuous transcription of the structural genes (b) no transcription of the structural genes (c) the binding of the repressor to the operator (d) no production of RNA polymerase (e) no difference in the rate of transcription
Which of the following is not correct for bacterial conjugation? a. Both Hfr and F+ bacteria have the ability to code for a sex pilus. b. After an F- cell has conjugated with an F+, its plasmid holds the F+ factor. c. The recipient cell is Hfr following conjugation. d. In an HfrF- conjugation, DNA of the main chromosomemoves to a recipient cell. e. Genes on the F factor encode proteins of the sex pilus.
Why are antibiotic resistance markers such as ampR important components of bacterial plasmid cloning vectors? a. The plasmid must have resistance to accept DNA inserts. b. They allow the detection of plasmids that contain an inserted DNA fragment. c. They ensure the presence of the ori site. d. They ensure that the plasmid can be cut by a restriction enzyme. e. They allow identification of bacteria that have taken up a plasmid.
13. Suppose a biotechnology company has developed a GMO, a transgenic plant that expresses Bt toxin. The company sells its seeds to a farmer under the condition that the farmer may plant the seed, but not collect seed from the plants that grow and use it to produce crops in the subsequent season. The seeds are expensive, and the farmer buys seeds from the company only once. How could the company show experimentally that the farmer has violated the agreement and is using seeds collected from the first crop to grow the next crop?
There have been recurring cases of mad-cow disease in the United Kingdom since the mid-1990s. Mad-cow disease is caused by a prion, an infectious particle that consists only of protein. In 1986, the media began reporting that cows all over England were dying from a mysterious disease. Initially, there was little interest in determining whether humans could be affected. For 10 years, the British government maintained that this unusual disease could not be transmitted to humans. However, in March 1996, the government did an about-face and announced that bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad-cow disease, can be transmitted to humans, where it is known as variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD). As in cows, this disease eats away at the nervous system, destroying the brain and essentially turning it into a spongelike structure filled with holes. Victims experience dementia; confusion; loss of speech, sight, and hearing; convulsions; coma; and finally death. Prion diseases are always fatal, and there is no treatment. Precautionary measures taken in Britain to prevent this disease in humans may have begun too late. Many of the victims contracted it over a decade earlier, when the BSE epidemic began, and the incubation period is long (vCJD has an incubation period of 10 to 40 years). A recent study concluded that 1 in 2,000 people in Great Britain carry the abnormally folded protein that causes vCJD. In spite of these numbers, the death rate from vCJD remains low. It is not clear whether this means that the incubation period for the disease is much longer than previously thought, or whether they may never develop the disease. What measures have been taken to stop BSE?
There have been recurring cases of mad-cow disease in the United Kingdom since the mid-1990s. Mad-cow disease is caused by a prion, an infectious particle that consists only of protein. In 1986, the media began reporting that cows all over England were dying from a mysterious disease. Initially, there was little interest in determining whether humans could be affected. For 10 years, the British government maintained that this unusual disease could not be transmitted to humans. However, in March 1996, the government did an about-face and announced that bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad-cow disease, can be transmitted to humans, where it is known as variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD). As in cows, this disease eats away at the nervous system, destroying the brain and essentially turning it into a spongelike structure filled with holes. Victims experience dementia; confusion; loss of speech, sight, and hearing; convulsions; coma; and finally death. Prion diseases are always fatal, and there is no treatment. Precautionary measures taken in Britain to prevent this disease in humans may have begun too late. Many of the victims contracted it over a decade earlier, when the BSE epidemic began, and the incubation period is long (vCJD has an incubation period of 10 to 40 years). A recent study concluded that 1 in 2,000 people in Great Britain carry the abnormally folded protein that causes vCJD. In spite of these numbers, the death rate from vCJD remains low. It is not clear whether this means that the incubation period for the disease is much longer than previously thought, or whether they may never develop the disease. If you were traveling in Europe, would you eat beef? Give sound reasons why or why not.