Enzyme 10 Chapter Summary

In one of the chapters Matt Ridley concludes that chromosome 10 is related to stress. He relates chromosome 10 to stress by a small organic molecule called cholesterol that correlates to stress levels. The cholesterol gets manufactured in the body from sugars in the diet. This small organic molecule called cholesterol can form many steroids that have important functions in the body like, testosterone, cortisol, progesterone, aldosterone and oestradiol. Matt Ridley focuses on cortisol which causes stress according to Matt Ridley. Matt Ridley says that a gene called CYP17 found on chromosome 10 codes for an enzyme that catalyzes cholesterol to form the hormone called cortisol. The higher levels of cortisol in the blood stream indicates that the
In the article of “CYP17 gene polymorphisms” it reinforces the information that Matt Ridley had previously talked about, this article talks about how this gene codes for an enzyme “cytochrome P-450c17α (CYP17) gene, located on chromosome 10, which functions at key branch points in steroid hormone biosynthesis in the adrenal gland, ovary and gonads”(Sharp 729). Matt Ridley mostly talks about how this Gene CYP17 is important for making steroids from cholesterol but according the review article“CYP17 gene polymorphisms” the gene CYP17 also plays important role in cancer depending on which variant someone has of that particular gene. For example, Sharp explains that “the CYP17 gene is polymorphic prompted investigation of the role of a gene variants in the etiology of disease and conditions in which estrogens and androgens play important role in breast cancer, polycystic ovary syndrome, endometrial cancer, and prostate cancer”(Sharp 729). This statement says that there is different variants of the gene CYP17 that can encode different variants of the enzyme that will produce different variants of steroids that can contribute to different cancers depending on the type of steroid produced. Matt Ridley does not talk about how CYP17 can cause cancer if there is a different variant of that gene. He only explains that this CYP17 gene that codes for enzyme that can convert
Such as, if a person has a different variant of this gene it can cause cancer it is critical to understanding this gene. Matt Ridley failed to mention that this gene can have different variants which would give different variants enzymes that could cause cancer. The variants are caused by polymorphisms in the gene CYP17 which in turn affect the hormone levels which can cause cancer like, prostate cancer in males. In the article of “CYP17 Polymorphisms and Prostate Cancer Outcomes” it is a strong interest of area to look for polymorphisms or SNPs in the gene CYP17, they explain that polymorphisms in “men with genetic variants in CYP17 have altered enzymatic activity not only affecting their baseline hormone levels, but that such SNPs may also alter responsiveness to targeted therapies such as abiraterone acetate, a CYP17 protein inhibitor” (Vasaitis 1095). This helps us understand that polymorphisms and SNPs also play a big role in the Gene CYP17, and depending on the polymorphism of that gene it can be deleterious to the person or help them survive depending on the polymorphism. This gene has a certain polymorphism of the gene CYP17 that actually helps a person survive who has castration-resistant cancer, this means the treatments to lower testosterone levels are not working for the patient and have become resistant to treatment. The results of the article “CYP17 Polymorphisms and Prostate Cancer Outcomes”