Gene position within chromosome territories correlates with their involvement in distinct rearrangement types in thyroid cancer cells

Chromosomal rearrangements in human cancers are of two types, interchromosomal, which are rearrangements that involve exchange between loci located on different chromosomes, and intrachromosomal, which are rearrangements that involve loci located on the same chromosome. The type of rearrangement tha...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Genes chromosomes & cancer 2009-03, Vol.48 (3), p.222-228
Main Authors: Gandhi, Manoj S., Stringer, James R., Nikiforova, Marina N., Medvedovic, Mario, Nikiforov, Yuri E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis of Variance
Chromosome Aberrations
Chromosome Inversion
Cluster Analysis
DNA Probes
Gene Order
Humans
In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence
Microscopy, Confocal
Oncogenes
Statistics, Nonparametric
Thyroid Gland - ultrastructure
Thyroid Neoplasms - genetics
Thyroid Neoplasms - pathology
Translocation, Genetic
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Chromosomal rearrangements in human cancers are of two types, interchromosomal, which are rearrangements that involve exchange between loci located on different chromosomes, and intrachromosomal, which are rearrangements that involve loci located on the same chromosome. The type of rearrangement that typically activates a specific oncogene may be influenced by its nuclear location and that of its partner. In interphase nuclei, each chromosome occupies a distinct three‐dimensional (3D) territory that tends to not overlap the territories of other chromosomes. It is also known that after double strand breaks in the genome, mobility of free DNA ends is limited. These considerations suggest that loci located deep within a chromosomal territory might not participate in interchromosomal rearrangements as readily as in intrachromosomal rearrangements. To test this hypothesis, we used fluorescence in situ hybridization with 3D high‐resolution confocal microscopy to analyze the positions of six oncogenes known to be activated by recombination in human cancer cells. We found that loci involved in interchromosomal rearrangements were located closer to the periphery of chromosome territories as compared with the loci that were involved in intrachromosomal inversions. The results of this study provide evidence suggesting that nuclear architecture and location of specific genetic loci within chromosome territories may influence their participation in intrachromosomal or interchromosomal rearrangements in human thyroid cells. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
ISSN:1045-2257
1098-2264
DOI:10.1002/gcc.20639