Personalized Medicine and Pus Poppin’ Frogs

Go to the website http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/health/pharma/index.html and

read the introduction. Then click on the link that says “Your Doctor’s New Genetic Tools.”

Your Doctor’s New Genetic Tools

1. People not only differ by their physical feature, but they also differ in their ability to

2. Leukemia is

3. The Doctor’s treatment plan includes giving Latrice

4. How does Purinethol work?

5. Why is it that some patients respond so negatively to the chemotherapy treatment?

6. Explain what the TPMT enzyme does.

7. If the Purinethol is in the body too long it may not only affect cancer cells but it may also
affect normal cells. Explain how the Purinethol is deactivated.
8. Draw a pie chart that illustrates the enzymatic activity of children. Explain what each

percentage means.

9. What dosage of Purinethol does the doctor give Patrice?

10. Pharmacogenetic tests allow doctors to do what?

1.

2.

Now click on the top link that says Personalized Medicine (Pharmacogenetics) and then click
on the link to “Making SNPs Make Sense.”

Making SNPs Make Sense

11. What is a SNP?

12. Each SNP location in the genome can have up to __________ versions.

13. In the space below, draw what a SNP looks like (you must compare at least two genes).

14. Scientists estimate that our DNA contains at least ____________________ SNPs.
15. In order to find an association between SNPs and a response to medication, scientists

must…

16. What is a haplotype?

17. Do ALL of the haplotypes exist in a population?

18. How many haplotypes do you have for a gene? Do they have to be the same?

19. You can think of a person’s haplotype pair as a

20. Explain why it is that people may respond differently to Albuterol.

21. Scientists approach the problem of identifying, cataloging and characterizing SNPs in
two main ways. Explain the difference between them.
a. Genomic approaches

b. Functional approaches

22. SNPs and disease-causing mutations are not the same! First, to be classified as a SNP,
the change must be present in at least __________ of the general population. No
known disease-causing mutation is this common. Second, most disease-causing mutations
occur within a gene’s __________________________________________ and affect
the function of the protein encoded by the gene. Unlike mutations, SNPs are not
necessarily located within genes, and they do not always affect the way a protein
functions. SNPs are divided into two main categories:
a. Linked SNPs:
 b. Causative SNPs:

Now open up the Pus Poppin’ Frogs program (Start menuProgramsDept AppsScience).

Pus Poppin’ Frogs

Click PLAY!

In the space below, create a Data Table that includes each of the frogs (Hoppster, Pee-Wee
Croakley, Prince, and Artemous Amphibious) SNPs profile.

In the space below, create a data table that illustrates the different medications and their
effects on each of the frogs. Also record which SNP was original to the frog that responded
positively to the medication.

Which drug is most effective with the least side effects for the greatest population?

Which SNP causes adverse side effect with Ribbitra?