Question: If a cell in a protein did go wrong, what could be the consequences?

Seyyed Shah answered on 18 Jun 2012:

A good question.

Lets say, for example, that a protein which helps to repair damage caused to our DNA is not working properly. This could be very serious for a human being. It could drastically increase the chance of us having cancer, and reduce our life expectancy. Damage to DNA happens all the time. It can happen when ultra-violet rays of the sun shine on our skin, or from chemicals/chemical reactions.

Proteins can ‘go wrong’ if they have a mutation (a mistake in the sequence of the protein, which changes its function and sometimes also its shape). Sometimes, the proteins are fine but they are being produced at too low or too high levels inside the cell, and this causes problems. For example, in type I Diabetes, the body cannot produce a very small protein hormone called insulin. So the level of the sugar in the blood cannot be controlled in the normal way.

The consequences of the defect in a protein depend on what that particular protein does. Some defects are so severe, that a human being could die very early before birth. These proteins include those that control development of different types of cells and different organs in the body. Other defects are very mild, and in most cases this is because a mixture of normal and defective proteins are being made.