General information on MGMT Protein :
MGMT Portein, also known as Methylated-DNA–protein-cysteine methyltransferase (MGMT), is a protein encoded by the O6-methylguanine DNA methyltransferase gene. This protein is crucial for genome stability. MGMT protein is responsible of one of the rare mechanisms of direct DNA repair: the repair of the naturally occurring mutagenic DNA lesion O6-methylguanine back to guanine. The principal impact of MGMT is the removing of an alkyl from the O6-methylguanine. O6-methylguanine is a derivative of the nucleobase guanine which have a higher appetence for Thymine instead of Cytosine, causing errors during DNA replication.
MGMT protein is not a true enzyme. During the removing of the alkyl group from the lesion, the enzyme is not regenerated.
MGMT protein is present in every nuclear of human cells: Inactivation of the MGMT gene increase the chance of cancer emergence. The most common way of repression of the protein is by the methylation of its promoter region. According to different sources, 40% to 90% of colorectal cancers have reduced MGMT expression due to methylation of the MGMT promoter region. However, reduced or absent expression of MGMT would cause increased rates of mutation, and one or more of the mutated genes may provide the cell with a selective advantage. Many studies are focused on the expression of MGMT in different cancers like gastric carcinoma, metastatic pancreatic cancer or glioblastoma. Thanks to this important research around it, MGMT is a potential biomarker for chemotherapy response.
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