Questions and Answers
What is the primary reason for understanding gene mutations in relation to human diseases?
Which of the following statements about the clinical case of the infant with respiratory infections is most accurate?
In the context of gene mutations and human disease, which class of mutations is most likely to affect the structure and function of body organs?
What outcome is most likely if a child has a single gene mutation related to immune response?
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Which aspect of gene mutation is essential for understanding pathology and pathophysiology?
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Which of the following may not represent a direct consequence of chromosomal alterations?
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Why is newborn screening significant in identifying genetic disorders?
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What is a common feature of single gene mutations that might impact a child's health?
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What distinguishes complex multifactorial genetic disorders from monogenic disorders?
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Which statement best describes incomplete penetrance?
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What is the relationship between penetrance and expressivity?
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What is likely to happen if point mutations occur in the open-reading frame of a gene?
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Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of complex multifactorial genetic disorders?
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What does a disease with 100% penetrance imply?
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Which factors can contribute to variable expressivity of a genetic disorder?
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What term is defined as the likelihood that a patient with a specific genotype will display the disease phenotype?
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What is the inheritance pattern of cystic fibrosis?
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Where is the CFTR gene located in humans?
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What is the carrier frequency for cystic fibrosis in individuals of European descent in the U.S.?
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What percentage of CF mutations are accounted for by the 23 most common mutations in the CFTR gene in the U.S.?
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What method is commonly used for newborn screening of cystic fibrosis?
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Which of the following best describes compound heterozygosity in cystic fibrosis patients?
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Among which ethnic population is cystic fibrosis the least common in the U.S. according to prevalence rates?
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What type of sample is used for prenatal testing of cystic fibrosis?
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What is the primary method by which cells eliminate mRNAs with premature stop codons?
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Which process primarily leads to gene copy number variations (CNVs)?
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What is the consequence of truncated proteins competing with full-length proteins?
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Short tandem repeat expansions can occur in which of the following regions of a gene?
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Which mechanism is NOT involved in creating short tandem repeat expansions?
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How many human diseases have been identified as being caused by nucleotide repeat expansions?
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What type of sequences can undergo expansion and deletions due to DNA replication errors?
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Indels primarily lead to premature stop codons that are often regarded as toxic due to which reason?
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What is the main purpose of nonsense mediated decay (NMD) in cells?
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What happens to proteins resulting from mutations that create a nonsense codon?
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How do insertion and deletion (INDEL) mutations typically affect the protein coding sequence?
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Why are nonsense codons less likely to be found in alternative exons?
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What is the likelihood of a premature stop codon occurring after an INDEL?
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What could be a result of an INDEL occurring in a protein-coding exon?
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Which of the following processes is NOT associated with causing INDEL mutations?
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What is a key characteristic of INDEL mutations in terms of coding sequence length?
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Study Notes
Gene Mutations & Human Disease Overview
- Various diseases are linked to gene mutations, influencing diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment options.
Clinical Context
- Complex multifactorial genetic disorders, the most common class of genetic diseases, involve multiple genetic and environmental variables rather than monogenic mutations.
- Familial risk factors arise from multiple genetic variants, each with low penetrance, meaning one variant alone does not cause disease.
- Penetrance is the likelihood of a genotype expressing the disease phenotype, with 100% penetrance resulting in all carriers showing symptoms.
- Variable expressivity refers to different symptom severities and ages of disease presentation among individuals with the same genotype.
Clinical Case Study
- A six-month-old girl with recurrent respiratory infections was diagnosed with staphylococcus aureus pneumonia after not receiving newborn screening.
Single Gene Mutations
- Point Mutations: Single base substitutions that may lead to toxic protein production or nonsense mutations that are usually degraded through nonsense mediated decay (NMD).
- Insertion/Deletion (INDEL) Mutations: Cause frame shifts in protein coding sequences, likely resulting in premature stop codons.
- Cells prevent toxic truncated proteins by degrading mRNA with premature stop codons via NMD.
- Short Duplications, Inversions, and Translocations: Can result from evolutionarily preserved mechanisms, contributing to gene copy number variations (CNVs).
- Short Tandem Repeat Expansions: Involve expansions of repeat sequences linked to over 40 human diseases due to DNA replication errors.
Chromosomal Alterations
- Genetic diseases can occur from larger chromosomal changes, impacting gene structure and function.
Clinical Case Discussion: Cystic Fibrosis (CF)
- CF is a common inherited single-gene disorder, inherited autosomal recessively, linked to mutations in the CFTR gene on chromosome 7 (q31.2).
- Carrier frequency in U.S. population: approximately 1 in 25 for European descent; prevalence among newborns is roughly 1 in 2500 to 1 in 3500.
- Less common in African American (1 in 17,000) and Asian American (1 in 31,000) populations.
- Newborn screening for CF involves blood samples; prenatal testing uses amniotic fluid or chorionic villus sampling.
- Over 2000 mutations identified in CFTR gene, but 23 common mutations account for 99.9% of cases in the U.S.
- Many patients are compound heterozygotes, carrying two different pathogenic variants in the CFTR gene.
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Description
Test your understanding of core concepts in medical genetics, focusing on basic sciences and alterations in structure and function. This quiz is designed for learners aiming to grasp key learning objectives in genetics. Perfect for students or professionals in the field of medical genetics.