Besides point mutations, what other ways can a gene can transform into an oncogene?
There are many ways by which a normal proto-oncogene can be converted into an oncogene. Point mutations are the way by which, for example, Ras genes become converted from proto-oncogenes to oncogenes. Other genes undergo a process called gene amplification where there may be two copies of the gene present in normal cells and 20 or 50 or a hundred copies of the gene, often a growth promoting gene, present in cancer cells, so gene amplification is very important. Also chromosomal translocation may become important. In this mechanism, a region from one chromosome is inadvertently stuck together with a region from another chromosome and the resulting fused gene now begins to fire uncontrollably simply because the two genes have now been juxtaposed in a fashion that is most unnatural-this prevents the gene from firing normally. There yet are other mechanisms that are involved but these three are really the most important. What was the significance of the discovery of Ras in cancer research?
