Incorrectly spliced RNAs often lead to human pathologies. Scientists have examin
ID: 518803 • Letter: I
Question
Incorrectly spliced RNAs often lead to human pathologies. Scientists have examined human cancer cells for splice-specific changes and found that many of the changes disrupt tumor-suppressor gene function (Xu and Lee, 2003. Nucl. Acids Res. 31:5635-5643).
In general, what would be the effects of splicing changes on these RNAs and the function of tumor-suppressor gene function?
Select the four correct answers.
incomplete splicing where introns and exons are erroneously included or excluded in the mRNA product
increase of tumor-suppressor gene function
a variety of nonsense products, which result in premature RNA decay or truncated protein products
loss of tumor-suppressor gene function
a variety of nonspecific variants producing RNA pools with many lengths and combinations of exons and introns
change to an oncogene-like function
a.incomplete splicing where introns and exons are erroneously included or excluded in the mRNA product
b.increase of tumor-suppressor gene function
c.a variety of nonsense products, which result in premature RNA decay or truncated protein products
d.loss of tumor-suppressor gene function
e.a variety of nonspecific variants producing RNA pools with many lengths and combinations of exons and introns
f.change to an oncogene-like function
Explanation / Answer
a. incomplete splicing where introns and exons are erroneously included or excluded in the mRNA product
c. a variety of nonsense products, which result in premature RNA decay or truncated protein products
e. a variety of nonspecific variants producing RNA pools with many lengths and combinations of exons and introns
f. change to an oncogene-like function