| 1. |
- Calcagnile, O., et al.
(författare)
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Telomere dysfunction and telomerase activation in cancer - a pathological paradox?
- 2007
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Ingår i: Cytogenetic and Genome Research. - : S. Karger AG. - 1424-859X .- 1424-8581. ; 118:2-4, s. 270-276
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Telomerase is expressed in more than 90% of human cancers. Telomere maintenance by this enzyme is believed to safeguard genomic integrity in neoplastic cells. Nevertheless, many telomerase-expressing tumours exhibit chromosomal instability triggered by short, dysfunctional telomeres, implying that active telomerase is not sufficient for preserving a functional telosomic nucleoprotein complex in cancer cells. We here examine three possible solutions to this ostensible paradox. First, prior to telomerase activation, telomere erosion may have evolved to a level where telomeric repeat sequences are too short to provide a functional substrate for telomerase enzyme activity. Second, mechanisms other than the continuous telomere erosion counteracted by telomerase may contribute to rapid shortening of telomere repeats. Third, dysfunction of telomere-regulating proteins may result in direct telomere uncapping. Moreover, telomerase may contribute to tumour development also through mechanisms unrelated to telomere length maintenance. Taken together, the available data on the role of telomerase in cancer strongly support that inhibition of this enzyme is a feasible strategy for cancer therapy. Copyright (C) 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel.
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| 2. |
- Erdogan, F, et al.
(författare)
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Impact of low copy repeats on the generation of balanced and unbalanced chromosomal aberrations in mental retardation
- 2006
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Ingår i: Cytogenetic and Genome Research. - : S. Karger AG. - 1424-859X .- 1424-8581. ; 115:3-4, s. 247-253
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Low copy repeats (LCRs) are stretches of duplicated DNA that are more than 1 kb in size and share a sequence similarity that exceeds 90%. Non-allelic homologous recombination (NAHR) between highly similar LCRs has been implicated in numerous genomic disorders. This study aimed at defining the impact of LCRs on the generation of balanced and unbalanced chromosomal rearrangements in mentally retarded patients. A cohort of 22 patients, preselected for the presence of submicroscopic imbalances, was analysed using submegabase resolution tiling path array CGH and the results were compared with a set of 41 patients with balanced translocations and breakpoints that were mapped to the BAC level by FISH. Our data indicate an accumulation of LCRs at breakpoints of both balanced and unbalanced rearrangements. LCRs with high sequence similarity in both breakpoint regions, suggesting NAHR as the most likely cause of rearrangement, were observed in 6/22 patients with chromosomal imbalances, but not in any of the balanced translocation cases studied. In case of chromosomal imbalances, the likelihood of NAHR seems to be inversely related to the size of the aberration. Our data also suggest the presence of additional mechanisms coinciding with or dependent on the presence of LCRs that may induce an increased instability at these chromosomal sites.
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| 3. |
- Gebre-Medhin, Samuel, et al.
(författare)
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Telomeric associations correlate with telomere length reduction and clonal chromosome aberrations in giant cell tumor of bone.
- 2009
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Ingår i: Cytogenetic and Genome Research. - : S. Karger AG. - 1424-859X .- 1424-8581. ; 124:2, s. 121-127
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Giant cell tumor of bone (GCTB) is characterized cytogenetically by frequent telomeric associations (tas). To explore the mechanisms behind the formation of tas in GCTB and to investigate their karyotypic consequences, the frequencies of tas and clonal aberrations other than tas in 20 GCTBs were compared to telomere length and status, as assessed by quantitative PCR, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), and expression levels of four genes involved in telomere maintenance. Based on the G-banding results, the tumors were divided into two groups, one with a high frequency of tas and one with a low frequency. Clonal aberrations were found to be restricted to the group with a high level of tas, and the same group showed a significantly larger reduction in telomere length in tumor cells compared to peripheral blood cells. Furthermore, 65 out of 66 tas analyzed by FISH were negative for telomeric sequences. The expression levels of TERT, TERF1, TERF2, and POT1 did not correlate with telomere length or the frequency of tas. Thus, the present findings provide strong support for the notion that decreased telomere length is a prerequisite for tas in GCTBs and that the clonal changes occurring in GCTBs are derived from tas.
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| 4. |
- Hamta, Ahmad, 1961, et al.
(författare)
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Chromosome ideograms of the laboratory rat (Rattus norvegicus) based on high-resolution banding, and anchoring of the cytogenetic map to the DNA sequence by FISH in sample chromosomes.
- 2006
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Ingår i: Cytogenetic and genome research. - : S. Karger AG. - 1424-859X .- 1424-8581. ; 115:2, s. 158-68
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A detailed banded ideogram representation of the rat chromosomes was constructed based on actual G-banded prometaphase chromosomes. The approach yielded 535 individual bands, a significant increase compared to previously presented ideograms. The new ideogram was adapted to the existing band nomenclature. The gene locus positions in the rat draft DNA sequence were compared to the chromosomal positions as determined by dual-color FISH, using rat (RNO) chromosomes 6 and 15 and a segment of RNO4 as sample regions. It was found that there was generally an excellent correlation in the chromosome regions tested between the relative gene position in the DNA molecules and the sub-chromosomal localization by FISH and subsequent information transfer on ideograms from measurements of chromosomal images. However, in the metacentric chromosome (RNO15), the correlation was much better in the short arm than in the long arm, suggesting that the centromeric region may distort the linear relationship between the chromosomal image and the corresponding DNA molecule.
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| 5. |
- Hans, Ellegren
(författare)
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Molecular evolutionary genomics of birds
- 2007
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Ingår i: Cytogenetic and Genome Research. - : S. Karger AG. - 1424-8581 .- 1424-859X. ; 117:1-4, s. 120-130
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Insight into the molecular evolution of birds has been offered by the steady accumulation of avian DNA sequence data, recently culminating in the first draft sequence of an avian genome, that of chicken. By studying avian molecular evolution we can learn about adaptations and phenotypic evolution in birds, and also gain an understanding of the similarities and differences between mammalian and avian genomes. In both these lineages, there is pronounced isochore structure with highly variable GC content. However, while mammalian isochores are decaying, they are maintained in the chicken lineage, which is consistent with a biased gene conversion model where the high and variable recombination rate of birds reinforces heterogeneity in GC. In Galliformes, GC is positively correlated with the rate of nucleotide substitution; the mean neutral mutation rate is 0.12-0.15% at each site per million years but this estimate comes with significant local variation in the rate of mutation. Comparative genomics reveals lower dN/dS ratios on micro- compared to macrochromosomes, possibly due to population genetic effects or a non-random distribution of genes with respect to chromosome size. A non-random genomic distribution is shown by genes with sex-biased expression, with male-biased genes over-represented and female-biased genes under-represented on the Z chromosome. A strong effect of selection is evident on the non-recombining W chromosome with high dN/dS ratios and limited polymorphism. Nucleotide diversity in chicken is estimated at 4-5 × 10-3 which might be seen as surprisingly high given presumed bottlenecks during domestication, but is lower than that recently observed in several natural populations of other species. Several important aspects of the molecular evolutionary process of birds remain to be understood and it can be anticipated that the upcoming genome sequence of a second bird species, the zebra finch, as well as the integration of data on gene expression, shall further advance our knowledge of avian evolution.
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| 6. |
- Hiendleder, S, et al.
(författare)
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Complete mitochondrial genomes of Bos taurus and Bos indicus provide new insights into intraspecies variation, taxonomy and domestication
- 2008
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Ingår i: Cytogenetic and Genome Research. - : S. Karger AG. - 1424-859X .- 1424-8581. ; 120:1-2, s. 150-156
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The taurine and zebuine cattle breeds comprise the majority of the world cattle population but their taxonomic status is still controversial. The two forms of cattle are currently classified as Bos taurus and Bos indicus species and are differentiated primarily by the presence or absence of a hump. However, these two species hybridize readily, producing fully fertile offspring. We have determined and analyzed complete B. taurus and B. indicus mitochondrial genome sequences to investigate the extent of sequence divergences and to study their taxonomic status by molecular dating. The sequences encompassed 16,338 and 16,339 nucleotides, respectively, and differed at 237 positions. Estimated divergence times indicated that the two cattle lineages separated 1.7-2.0 million years ago. Combined phylogenetic analyses of 18 new and 130 previously reported extant B. taurus and B. indicus control region sequences with data from 32 archaeological specimens of the extinct wild aurochs (Bos primigenius) identified four major maternal lineages. B. primigenius haplotypes were present in all but the B. indicus lineage, and one B. taurus sequence clustered with B. primigenius P haplotypes that were not previously linked with domestic cattle. The B. indicus cluster and a recently reported new B. primigenius haplotype that represents a new lineage were approximately equidistant from the B. taurus cluster. These data suggest domestications from several differentiated populations of B. primigenius and a subspecies status for taurine (B. primigenius taurus) and zebuine (B. primigenius indicus) cattle.
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| 7. |
- Jin, Charlotte, et al.
(författare)
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Molecular cytogenetic characterization of the 11q13 amplicon in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
- 2006
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Ingår i: Cytogenetic and Genome Research. - : S. Karger AG. - 1424-859X .- 1424-8581. ; 115:2, s. 99-106
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Amplification of 11q13 DNA sequences and overexpression of CCND1 are common findings in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), identified in about 30% of the cases. However, little is known about initiation of the amplification and the organization of the amplicon. In order to study the structure of the amplicon in more detail and to learn more about the mechanisms involved in its initiation, prometaphase, metaphase, and anaphase fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with 40 BAC clones spanning a 16-Mb region in chromosome bands 11q12.2 to 11q13.5 was performed in nine HNSCC cell lines with homogeneously staining regions. FISH analysis showed that the size of the amplicon varied among the nine cell lines, the smallest being 2.12 Mb and the largest 8.97 Mb. The smallest overlapping region of amplification was approximately 1.61 Mb, covering the region from BAC 729E14 to BAC 102B19. This region contained several genes previously shown to be amplified and overexpressed in HNSCC, including CCDN1, CTTN, SHANK2, and ORAOV1. The cell lines were also used to study the internal structure of the amplicon. Various patterns of amplified DNA sequences within the amplicon were found among the nine cell lines. Even within the same cell line, different amplicon structures could be found in different cell populations, indicating that the mechanisms involved in the development of the amplicons in HNSCC were more complex than previously assumed. The frequent finding of inverted repeats within the amplicons, however, suggests that breakage-fusion-bridge cycles are important in the initiation, but the fact that such repeats constituted only small parts of the amplicons indicate that they are further rearranged during tumor progression. Copyright (c) 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel.
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| 8. |
- Johansson, I, et al.
(författare)
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CNVs of human genes and their implication in pharmacogenetics
- 2008
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Ingår i: Cytogenetic and genome research. - : S. Karger AG. - 1424-859X .- 1424-8581. ; 123:1-4, s. 195-204
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Pharmacogenetics encompasses genetic variation with importance for drug response and adverse drug reactions with emphasis on drug transporters, drug metabolizing enzymes, and drug receptors. The highest penetrance with respect to drug action is generally observed for variability in genes encoding drug metabolizing enzymes, and gene copy number variations play a very important role in this respect. Alleles containing 0–13 active gene copies have been described, and this variation affects the clinical outcome of treatment for about 20–30% of all drugs. Gene copy number variation has also an influence on nicotine metabolism and detoxification by glutathione transferases and sulfotransferases. In the current overview we provide an update of the situation with emphasis on clinically important examples.
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| 9. |
- Jonkers, Y. M. H., et al.
(författare)
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Molecular parameters associated with insulinoma progression : chromosomal instability versus p53 and CK19 status
- 2006
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Ingår i: Cytogenetic and Genome Research. - : S. Karger AG. - 1424-8581 .- 1424-859X. ; 115:3-4, s. 289-297
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Insulinomas represent the predominant syndromic subtype of endocrine pancreatic tumors (EPTs). Their metastatic potential cannot be predicted reliably using histopathological criteria. In the past few years, several attempts have been made to identify prognostic markers, among them TP53 mutations and immunostaining of p53 and recently cytokeratin 19 (CK19). In a previous study using conventional comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) we have shown that chromosomal instability (CIN) is associated with metastatic disease in insulinomas. It was our aim to evaluate these potential parameters in a single study. For the determination of CIN, we applied CGH to microarrays because it allows a high-resolution detection of DNA copy number changes in comparison with conventional CGH as well as the analysis of chromosomal regions close to the centromeres and telomeres, and at 1pter -> p32, 16p, 19 and 22. These regions are usually excluded from conventional CGH analysis, because they may show DNA gains in negative control hybridizations. Array CGH analysis of 30 insulinomas (15 tumors of benign, eight tumors of uncertain and seven tumors of malignant behavior) revealed that >= 20 chromosomal alterations and >= 6 telomeric losses were the best predictors of malignant progression. A subset of 22 insulinomas was further investigated for TP53 exon 5-8 gene mutations, and p53 and CK19 expression. Only one malignant tumor was shown to harbor an arginine 273 serine mutation and immunopositivity for p53. CK19 immunopositivity was detected in three malignant tumors and one tumor with uncertain behavior. In conclusion, our results indicate that CIN as well as telomeric loss are very powerful indicators for malignant progression in sporadic insulinomas. Our data do not support a critical role for p53 and CK19 as molecular parameters for this purpose.
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| 10. |
- Kaur, S., et al.
(författare)
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Gene copy number changes in dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans - a fine-resolution study using array comparative genomic hybridization
- 2006
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Ingår i: Cytogenetic and Genome Research. - : S. Karger AG. - 1424-859X .- 1424-8581. ; 115:3-4, s. 283-288
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) is a rare, slow-growing, low-grade dermal tumor. Cytogenetic and FISH studies have revealed that the chromosomal rearrangements characteristic of DFSP tumors involve both translocations and the formation of a supernumerary ring derived from chromosomes 17 and 22. The t(17;22) (q22;q13.1) translocation generates a gene fusion between COL1A1 and PDGFB, which serves as a diagnostic marker of DFSP. In the present study we performed array-CGH (aCGH) analysis on ten DFSP tumors. The COL1A1 region at 17q was gained in 71% (5/7) of the samples and the PDGFB region at 22q was gained in 43% (3/7) of the individual samples. In addition to the 17q and 22q gains, altogether 17 minimal common regions of gain and one region of loss were detected.
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