Abstract:
Cancer arises from a stepwise accumulation of genetic changes through expansion of the
malignant cell clones in the population of pre-malignant cells undergoing the Darwinian
selection process. In other words, cancer is an outcome of continuous and random
acquisition of the changes in the genomes of individual cells. These modifications
gradually and progressively change the phenotype of the normal cell making it more
malignant through a loss of an overall stability of genome. To gain the comprehension of
the mechanisms underlying tumor development, a number of high-throughput expression
studies have been performed. The objective of the current study is to use publicly
available datasets in order to analyze the most general features of the malignant cell, thus,
investigating molecular phenomena common for all tumor cells, with no regard to the
characteristics related to tumor’s tissue of origin. Thus, we analyzed and compared the
transcript diversity patterns in tumor and normal cells, studied an expression of the genes
located adjacent to the telomeres and provided an evidence for the hypothesis that tumor
state behaves as stable “attractor” state. An intermediate regulatory framework
hypothesis implying a set of local ‘vantage points’ genes that control the transcription of
all other genes in a semi-democratic fashion has been endorsed.
