Mutation Senseless

Mutation Senseless

Mutation refers to a change in the genetic material of a cell or organism. DNA molecules can mutate, usually as a result of errors in DNA copying or chemical damage to its molecules. Mutations can lead to various effects, for example, changes in protein structure, reduction or increase in chromosome size, defects in DNA replication, and others.

The term "nonsense" in relation to a mutation means that the mutation product has no function. That is, a mutation can cause the structure of the protein encoded by this gene to be deformed. It is also possible that if the mutation affects the regulatory region of the gene, this will lead to a stop in the expression of this gene and loss of its function.

Most often, nonsense mutations are the result of random occurrence of mutations, but recently it has been shown that there are a small number of nonsense mutations that carry a risk of forming cancer processes. It should also be noted that nonsense or useless mutations may be accidental by-products of DNA repair systems. For example, repair systems can correct mutations caused by damaging factors other than DNA polymerases, although they do not affect the functioning of the genome.

Additionally, there are several examples of nonsense mutations in cancer genes found in tumors. This indicates the possibility that cancer could develop from such an unchanged mutant. Indeed, the mechanism of cancer activation most likely involves activating factors of genetic mutations. This causes the cell to continue to proliferate despite unfavorable conditions caused by further genetic inbreeding. However, the mechanisms of cancer mutation activation are controversial, and it is currently unclear what mechanisms govern the activation of such unique tumor-causing gene mutations. It should be noted that various genetic changes that do not lead to significant structural differences in proteins can nevertheless affect the processes of gene regulation or the expression of their functions. In such cases, it is called modulating mutations. There are several reasons why such mutations are called nonsense. Firstly, the protein products of these genes do not perform any useful function that is necessary to regulate vital processes in the cell. Even if protein synthesis is required, the protein may remain inactive and is unlikely to be used as a signal through hormones or autocrine and paracrine intracellular signals. On the other hand, DNA molecules carrying a nonsense mutation are often not destroyed by the repair system. Therefore, the expression of genes carrying nonsense mutators is likely to cease completely in the first round of proteolysis.