Final answer:
Proto-oncogenes maintain control of the c) cell cycle, and when mutated into oncogenes, they can lead to uncontrolled cell division and cancer.
Step-by-step explanation:
Proto-oncogenes are genes that normally help control cell division by regulating the c) cell cycle.
When these genes mutate, they may become oncogenes, which can cause cells to divide uncontrollably and potentially lead to cancer.
This process resembles a malfunction where a car's accelerator is stuck, causing the vehicle to keep racing forward. Similarly, an oncogene can keep driving a cell to divide without the normal regulatory checks.
An example of this is when a mutation allows Cdk, a protein that helps regulate the cell cycle, to activate without the necessary controls, disrupting the normal cell cycle regulation.
Overexpression of oncogenes like myc, which is a transcription factor involved in Burkett's Lymphoma, can transform normal cells into cancerous cells that proliferate without inhibition.