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Comparative genomic hybridisation divides retinoblastomas into a high and a low level chromosomal instability group.

BACKGROUND: Retinoblastoma is the most common intraocular malignancy in childhood and is responsible for approximately 1% of all deaths caused by childhood cancer. AIMS/METHODS: Comparative genomic hybridisation was performed on 13 consecutive, histologically confirmed retinoblastomas to analyse patterns of chromosomal changes and correlate these to clinicopathological variables. Six cases were hereditary and seven cases were sporadic. RESULTS: In 11 of the 13 tumours chromosomal abnormalities were detected, most frequently gains. Frequent chromosomal gains concerned 6p (46%), 1q (38%), 2p, 9q (30%), 5p, 7q, 10q, 17q, and 20q (23%). Frequent losses occurred at Xq (46%), 13q14, 16q, and 4q (23%). High level copy number gains were found at 5p15 and 6p11-12. A loss at 13q14 occurred in three cases only. Relatively few events occurred in the hereditary cases (27) compared with the non-hereditary cases (70 events). The number of chromosomal aberrations in these 13 retinoblastomas showed a bimodal distribution. Seven tumours showed less than four chromosomal aberrations, falling into a low level chromosomal instability (CIN) group, and six tumours showed at least eight aberrations, falling into a high level CIN group. In the low level CIN group the mean age was half that seen in the high level CIN group, there were less male patients, and there were more hereditary and bilateral cases. Microsatellite instability was not detected in either of the two groups. CONCLUSION: Despite the complex pattern of genetic changes in retinoblastomas, certain chromosomal regions appear to be affected preferentially. On the basis of the number of genetic events, retinoblastomas can be divided in low and a high level chromosomal instability groups, which have striking differences in clinical presentation.

Age Factors↗

Long-term in vivo transmission of alpha-particle-induced chromosomal instability in murine haemopoietic cells.

We have previously reported non-clonal cytogenetic aberrations in the clonal descendants of murine haemopoietic stem cells irradiated in vitro with alpha-particles. The data are consistent with a transmissible chromosomal instability induced in a stem cell resulting in a diversity of aberrations in its clonal progeny many cell divisions later. To determine whether this instability is transmissible in vivo, bone marrow cells obtained from the male mouse have been irradiated with alpha-particles in vitro and transplanted into female recipients. In the repopulated haemopoietic system we have observed persisting chromosomal instability up to 1 year post-transplantation. The findings demonstrate a long-lived effect of the alpha-particle-induced lesion in the donor repopulating stem cells.

Alpha Particles↗

Can chromosomal instability initiate tumorigenesis?

Cancers result from the accumulation of inherited and somatic mutations in oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. These genes encode proteins that function in growth regulatory and differentiation pathways. Mutations in those genes increase the net reproductive rate of cells. Chromosomal instability (CIN) is a feature of most human cancers. Mutations in CIN genes increase the rate at which whole chromosomes or large parts of chromosomes are lost or gained during cell division. CIN causes an imbalance in chromosome number (aneuploidy) and an enhanced rate of loss of heterozygosity, which is an important mechanism of inactivating tumor suppressor genes. A crucial question of cancer biology is whether CIN is an early event and thus a driving force of tumorigenesis. Here we discuss mathematical models of situations where inactivation of one or two tumor suppressor genes is required for tumorigenesis. If two tumor suppressor genes have to be inactivated in rate-limiting steps, then CIN is likely to emerge before the inactivation of the first tumor suppressor gene.

Animals↗

Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus-encoded latency-associated nuclear antigen induces chromosomal instability through inhibition of p53 function.

Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is predominantly associated with three human malignancies, KS, primary effusion lymphoma, and multicentric Castleman's disease. These disorders are linked to genomic instability, known to be a crucial component of the oncogenic process. Latency-associated nuclear antigen (LANA), encoded by open reading frame 73 of the KSHV genome, is a latent protein consistently expressed in all KSHV-associated diseases. LANA is important in viral genome maintenance and is associated with cellular and viral proteins to regulate viral and cellular gene expression. LANA interacts with the tumor suppressor genes p53 and pRb, indicating that LANA may target these proteins and promote oncogenesis. In this study, we generated cell lines which stably expressed LANA to observe the effects of LANA expression on cell phenotype. LANA expression in these stable cell lines showed a dramatic increase in chromosomal instability, indicated by the presence of increased multinucleation, micronuclei, and aberrant centrosomes. In addition, these stable cell lines demonstrated an increased proliferation rate and as well as increased entry into S phase in both stable and transiently transfected LANA-expressing cells. Additionally, p53 transcription and its transactivation activity were suppressed by LANA expression in a dose-dependent manner. LANA may therefore promote chromosomal instability by suppressing the functional activities of p53, thereby facilitating KSHV-mediated pathogenesis and cancer.

Animals↗

Chromosomal instability by low-coverage whole-genome sequencing assay predicts prognosis in bladder cancer patients underwent radical cystectomy.

PURPOSE: To investigate chromosomal instability (CIN) in tumor tissue from radical bladder resection and to evaluate whether it can be used as a biomarker for the molecular typing of (BC). METHODS: DNA was extracted from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded samples of 50 BC patients who were followed up to March 23 2023 using the Qiagen nucleic acid kits. We analyzed CIN in tumor of bladder by low-coverage whole genome sequencing (LC-WGS). Kaplan-Meier log-rank test was used to perform survival analysis. The association between variables and overall and progression-free survival was analyzed using the Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS: There were 44 genome segments with statistically significant changes in copy number. CIN was significantly correlated with tumor stage, lymph node metastasis, relapse and survival status. Patients with high CIN were found to have a worse survival, with a median overall survival (OS) of 15 months. In addition, patients with high CIN were more likely to relapse, with a median progression-free survival (PFS) of 7 months. Patients with low CIN showed better OS and PFS. However, there was no significant difference in OS and PFS between T2 and T3-T4 patients. Multivariate cox regression analysis showed that high CIN was an independent predictor of OS, and high CIN and muscle invasion were independent predictors of PFS. Furthermore, patients with abnormal copy number of a single chromosome also had a poor prognosis, with a median survival of 14-30 months for OS and 5-10 months for PFS, while negative patients had a better prognosis. CONCLUSION: CIN was significantly correlated with tumor stage, lymph node metastasis, relapse and survival status of BC. Patients with high CIN or abnormal copy numbers of a single chromosome have a poor prognosis. CIN might be better than T stage in predicting the prognosis of patients with BC. Molecular typing of CIN can be used as an independent prognostic factor for BC.

Humans↗

Chromosomal instability in haemopoietic cells of the foetus, mother and offspring after in utero irradiation of the CBA/Ca mouse.

PURPOSE: The present study was conducted to test the susceptibility of the mouse foetus to transmit chromosomal instability to the haemopoietic stem cells of offspring after in utero X-or plutonium-239-irradiation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Pregnant CBA/Ca-mice were injected with 80 kBq/kg 239Pu or X-irradiated with 1 Gy X-rays on days 13 or 14 of gestation. CFU-A cultures were grown from haemopoietic stem cells sampled from foetal liver and the bone marrow from the offspring and from the mother. Non-clonal, unstable chromosomal aberrations were scored in metaphases from individual stem cell colonies. RESULTS: The relative excess (RE) of unstable chromosomal aberrations in foetal liver cells irradiated with 1 Gy X-rays increased from 1.6 at day 2 up to 2.7 at day 4 after irradiation. In the bone marrow cells from the mother, this value was 1.8 (average from cells sampled at days 3 and 14 after irradiation). After injection of the pregnant mice with 235Pu, the yield of unstable chromosomal aberrations per cell was 0.14+/-0.03 (RE approximately 10) in descendants of bone marrow cells from the mother, 0.11+/-0.02 (RE = 10) in descendants of foetal liver cells and 0.16+/-0.05 (RE = 10) in descendants of bone marrow cells from the offspring. CONCLUSIONS: From the numerical analysis of non-clonal, unstable aberrations in haemopoietic cells from the foetus, the mother and the offspring after in utero irradiation, it was concluded that in utero irradiation of the CBA/Ca mouse was not more efficient in inducing chromosomal instability in the offspring than in the foetus or the mother. All three cell populations exhibited a similar degree of unstable aberrations, both in terms of the absolute numbers of non-clonal aberrations and in terms of relative excess compared with unexposed controls.

Animals↗

Isolation of temperature-sensitive CHO-K1 cell mutants exhibiting chromosomal instability and reduced DNA synthesis at nonpermissive temperature.

Twenty-five temperature-sensitive (ts) mutants were isolated from Chinese hamster CHO-K1 cells after mutagenization with N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine. Of 13 complementation groups identified, nine exhibited chromosomal instability at a nonpermissive temperature. They were classified into three major classes according to inducibility of sister chromatid exchange (SCE) and/or chromosomal aberration (CA): class 1 resulted in predominant SCEs, class 2 manifested both SCEs and CAs, and class 3 exhibited higher induction of CAs. Flow cytometric analysis of the mutants exhibiting chromosomal instability indicated that many of the mutants were arrested in the S or S to G2 phases of the cell cycle at the nonpermissive temperature, accompanied by a decrease in the rate of DNA synthesis. These results imply that ts defects are related to some points in DNA replication and might be responsible for the induction of SCEs and/or CAs at the nonpermissive temperature.

Animals↗

Extensive chromosomal instability in Rad51d-deficient mouse cells.

Homologous recombination is a double-strand break repair pathway required for resistance to DNA damage and maintaining genomic integrity. In mitotically dividing vertebrate cells, the primary proteins involved in homologous recombination repair are RAD51 and the five RAD51 paralogs, RAD51B, RAD51C, RAD51D, XRCC2, and XRCC3. In the absence of Rad51d, human and mouse cells fail to proliferate, and mice defective for Rad51d die before birth, likely as a result of genomic instability and p53 activation. Here, we report that a p53 deletion is sufficient to extend the life span of Rad51d-deficient embryos by up to 6 days and rescue the cell lethal phenotype. The Rad51d-/- Trp53-/- mouse embryo-derived fibroblasts were sensitive to DNA-damaging agents, particularly interstrand cross-links, and exhibited extensive chromosome instability including aneuploidy, chromosome fragments, deletions, and complex rearrangements. Additionally, loss of Rad51d resulted in increased centrosome fragmentation and reduced levels of radiation-induced RAD51-focus formation. Spontaneous frequencies of sister chromatid exchange were not affected by the absence of Rad51d, but sister chromatid exchange frequencies did fail to be induced upon challenge with the DNA cross-linking agent mitomycin C. These findings support a crucial role for mammalian RAD51D in normal development, recombination, and maintaining mammalian genome stability.

Animals↗

Checks for chromosomal instability in Gorlin and non-Gorlin basal-cell carcinoma patients.

The naevoid basal-cell carcinoma syndrome (NBCCS) is an autosomal dominant disorder with multiple basal-cell carcinomas, an increased risk for other neoplasms, and various malformations. Chromosome instability has been implicated in the pathogenesis of this syndrome, but these reports are somewhat contradictory. We have investigated five patients, two with confirmed NBCCS and three suspected. No evidence for chromosome instability was found in lymphocytes at three sample times after stimulation using metaphase aberration analysis, sister-chromatid exchange (SCE) in second division cells, or micronuclei. A significant lengthening of the cell cycle was found for the two confirmed NBCCS patients, but not for the suspected cases.

Adolescent↗

Overexpression of polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) and chromosomal instability in bladder cancer.

Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) participates in bipolar spindle formation and entry into mitosis. Chromosomal instability (CIN) is caused by abnormalities in spindle formation and chromosome segregation. In this study, we investigated the relationship of PLK1 overexpression to CIN, and compared the PLK1 status with clinicopathological parameters in 101 human urothelial carcinomas of the urinary bladder. Expression of PLK1 and the number of centrosomes were assessed by immunohistochemistry. Numerical aberrations of chromosomes 7, 9 and 17 spots that allowed estimation of CIN were evaluated by fluorescence in situ hybridization, and DNA ploidy was assessed by laser scanning cytometry. Cancers with a large intercellular variation in centromere copy number were defined as CIN cancers. Tumors with PLK1 overexpression were associated more frequently with CIN (p < 0.0001), DNA aneuploidy (p = 0.0007) and centrosome amplification (p = 0.0013) than those without. Overexpression of PLK1 was significantly related to higher pathological grade (p = 0.0024), multiple tumors (p = 0.0241) and positive urine cytology (p = 0.0192). These data suggest that a high level expression of PLK1 confers tumor progression advantages to urothelial cancer cells, although other factors are also involved.

Adult↗

Chromosome instability in colorectal tumor cells is associated with defects in microtubule plus-end attachments caused by a dominant mutation in APC.

The attachment of microtubule plus ends to kinetochores and to the cell cortex is essential for the fidelity of chromosome segregation. Here, we characterize the causes underlying the high rates of chromosome instability (CIN+) observed in colorectal tumor cells. We show that CIN+ tumor cells exhibit inefficient microtubule plus-end attachments during mitosis, accompanied by impairment of chromosome alignment in metaphase. The mitotic abnormalities associated with CIN+ tumor cells correlated with status of adenomatous polyposis coli (APC). Importantly, we have shown that a single truncating mutation in APC, similar to mutations found in tumor cells, acts dominantly to interfere with microtubule plus-end attachments and to cause a dramatic increase in mitotic abnormalities. We propose that APC functions to modulate microtubule plus-end attachments during mitosis, and that a single mutant APC allele predisposes cells to increased mitotic abnormalities, which may contribute to tumor progression.

Adenomatous Polyposis Coli Protein↗

Telomeres, chromosome instability and cancer.

Telomeres are composed of repetitive G-rich sequence and an abundance of associated proteins that together form a dynamic cap that protects chromosome ends and allows them to be distinguished from deleterious DSBs. Telomere-associated proteins also function to regulate telomerase, the ribonucleoprtotein responsible for addition of the species-specific terminal repeat sequence. Loss of telomere function is an important mechanism for the chromosome instability commonly found in cancer. Dysfunctional telomeres can result either from alterations in the telomere-associated proteins required for end-capping function, or from alterations that promote the gradual or sudden loss of sufficient repeat sequence necessary to maintain proper telomere structure. Regardless of the mechanism, loss of telomere function can result in sister chromatid fusion and prolonged breakage/fusion/bridge (B/F/B) cycles, leading to extensive DNA amplification and large terminal deletions. B/F/B cycles terminate primarily when the unstable chromosome acquires a new telomere, most often by translocation of the ends of other chromosomes, thereby providing a mechanism for transfer of instability from one chromosome to another. Thus, the loss of a single telomere can result in on-going instability, affect multiple chromosomes, and generate many of the types of rearrangements commonly associated with human cancer.

Chromosomal Instability↗

Delayed chromosomal instability induced by DNA damage.

DNA damage induced by ionizing radiation can result in gene mutation, gene amplification, chromosome rearrangements, cellular transformation, and cell death. Although many of these changes may be induced directly by the radiation, there is accumulating evidence for delayed genomic instability following X-ray exposure. We have investigated this phenomenon by studying delayed chromosomal instability in a hamster-human hybrid cell line by means of fluorescence in situ hybridization. We examined populations of metaphase cells several generations after expanding single-cell colonies that had survived 5 or 10 Gy of X rays. Delayed chromosomal instability, manifested as multiple rearrangements of human chromosome 4 in a background of hamster chromosomes, was observed in 29% of colonies surviving 5 Gy and in 62% of colonies surviving 10 Gy. A correlation of delayed chromosomal instability with delayed reproductive cell death, manifested as reduced plating efficiency in surviving clones, suggests a role for chromosome rearrangements in cytotoxicity. There were small differences in chromosome destabilization and plating efficiencies between cells irradiated with 5 or 10 Gy of X rays after a previous exposure to 10 Gy and cells irradiated only once. Cell clones showing delayed chromosomal instability had normal frequencies of sister chromatid exchange formation, indicating that at this cytogenetic endpoint the chromosomal instability was not apparent. The types of chromosomal rearrangements observed suggest that chromosome fusion, followed by bridge breakage and refusion, contributes to the observed delayed chromosomal instability.

Animals↗

Treatment of myelodysplastic syndrome with a DNA methyltransferase inhibitor: lack of evidence for induction of chromosomal instability.

In several large phase II trials, low-dose treatment with the azanucleoside 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (decitabine, DAC) resulted in complete hematologic and cytogenetic responses in 23 and 31% of MDS patients, respectively. The question of induction of chromosomal instability by this demethylating agent was addressed by serial karyotypic analyses. 53/122 DAC-treated patients had all normal metaphases at time of treatment start. In 46/53 patients, sequential cytogenetic analyses were performed. 9/46 patients (20%) acquired clonal chromosomal abnormalities during follow-up (4/9 transient). 8/9 abnormalities were gains or losses of entire chromosomes. The rate and pattern of cytogenetic evolution are thus not higher than in historical MDS cohorts not receiving specific treatment.

Aged↗

Non-coding RNAs as regulators of chromosomal instability in breast cancer.

Breast cancer is a highly heterogeneous disease characterized by extensive genomic and chromosomal instability (CIN), a hallmark that drives tumor evolution, intratumoral heterogeneity, therapeutic resistance, and poor clinical outcomes. Increasing evidence indicates that non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are important regulators of genome maintenance and chromosome stability. However, their specific contributions to CIN and the strength of the available evidence remain incompletely understood. This review examines the role of the major ncRNA classes, including circular RNAs, microRNAs, PIWI-interacting RNAs, small nucleolar RNAs, and long non-coding RNAs, in the regulation of CIN-related processes in breast cancer. We discuss the molecular mechanisms by which these ncRNAs regulate key pathways involved in CIN, while critically evaluating the strength of the experimental evidence supporting their functional roles. We also examine their associations with distinct breast cancer molecular subtypes and assess their potential as biomarkers and therapeutic targets, highlighting current limitations and knowledge gaps that hinder clinical translation. Collectively, the available evidence supports an emerging role for ncRNAs as regulators of CIN while underscoring the need for further mechanistic and subtype-specific studies to validate their clinical utility.

DNA repair↗

Generating chromosome instability through the simultaneous deletion of Mad2 and p53.

Cancer cells exhibit high levels of chromosome instability (CIN), and considerable interest surrounds the possibility that inactivation of the spindle checkpoint is involved. However, homozygous disruption of Mad and Bub checkpoint genes in metazoans causes cell death rather than CIN. We now report the isolation and characterization of blastocysts and two independent mouse embryonic fibroblast lines carrying deletions in Mad2 and p53. These cells lack a functional spindle checkpoint, undergo anaphase prematurely, and exhibit an extraordinarily high level of CIN. We conclude that the mitotic checkpoint is not essential for viability per se and that a CIN phenotype can be established in culture through the inactivation of both the Mad2- and p53-dependent checkpoint pathways.

Animals↗

Frequent chromosomal instability but no microsatellite instability in hepatocellular carcinomas.

Microsatellite instability (MSI) phenotype, caused by a deficiency of DNA mismatch repair genes, has been detected in a subset of tumors in the gastrointestinal tract. However, it is not clear how MSI is involved in the tumorigenesis of hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC). Results with HCC are controversial, with positive results published with American and European tumors, but negative with Japanese tumors. We report the absence of MSI in 39 Korean HCCs after analysis with 6 mononucleotide- and over 150 dinucleotide-repeat markers. Only one such dinucleotide-repeat (D2S213) exhibited a reproducible shift in mobility, representing a somatic mutation present in only some of the tumor cells. This may be the result of a spontaneous error of replication due to the intrinsic mutability of these unstable sequences and without any connection to true genomic instability. In support of this interpretation, no frameshift mutations were found at the coding repeats of target genes for the microsatellite mutator phenotype including TGF-betaRII, BAX, hMSH3, and hMSH6. In contrast, we observed frequent allelic losses on chromosomes 4q, 8p, 16q, and 17p by the analysis of dinucleotide repeats (microallelotyping), reflecting a high degree of tumor chromosomal instability, which was significantly associated to the tumor differentiation (p=0.036, Fisher's exact test). These results suggest that, unlike chromosomal instability, widespread MSI plays no role in the development or progression of HCC.

Adolescent↗

Lack of detectable transmissible chromosomal instability after in vivo or in vitro exposure of mouse bone marrow cells to 224Ra alpha particles.

Several studies over recent years have highlighted the possibility that radiation can induce transmissible genomic instability. Most of these involve in vitro irradiation and usually in vitro culture. Here it is reported that the short-half-life bone-seeking alpha-particle emitter (224)Ra did not induce excess transmissible chromosomal instability in CBA/H mouse bone marrow cells in a 100-day period after in vivo or in vitro exposure. Similarly, no excess transmissible chromosomal instability could be detected after in vivo whole-body X irradiation. It was noted, however, that short-term culture of murine bone marrow cells elevated yields of aberrations, as did transplantation of untreated marrow into radiation-ablated hosts. These findings emphasize the sensitivity of murine hemopoietic tissue to experimental manipulation and reinforce the importance of appropriate concurrent control experiments in any investigation of transmissible genomic instability.

Alpha Particles↗