A certain mutation in the receptor for epidermal growth factor (EGF) causes the mutated receptor protein to send a positive signal along the associated intracellular signaling pathway even when the EGF ligand is not bound to it
This signal leads to abnormal cell proliferation in the absence of growth factor. On the basis of this information, would you class the gene for the EGF receptor as a tumor suppressor gene or a potential oncogene? Explain your answer.
The mutation described leads toward cancerous cell behavior (excessive proliferation) by making the gene product hyperactive. The mutant gene is therefore, by definition, an oncogene. This effect is seen even if only one copy of the gene is affected; in other words, the mutation is dominant, as is typical for an oncogene. Mutations that delete an EGF receptor gene would be expected to have either no effect or an inhibiting effect on cell division. Thus, the normal EGF receptor is classed as a potential oncogene (a proto-oncogene).
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