title: Persistence of nucleolar RNA-rich structures and Ph1 duplication in the blastic crisis of chronic myeloid leukaemia.
abstract: Nucleolar persistence in metaphase plates is a feature observed in most of the cells in neoplastic processes. Pathological persistence or fragmentation of the nucleoli is thought to be the cause of some numerical chromosomal aberrations due to non-disjunction of the chromatids, with particular involvement of the satellite chromosomes. Thus, a combined selective staining of both the nucleoli (amido black 10B according to Mundkur and Brauer's cytochemical technique) and the chromosomes (neutral red) was applied to the metaphase plates of patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia in the blastic crisis. Duplicated Ph1 was associated with amido black-stained areas at a very high rate in some cases. Since the blastic crisis in chronic myeloid leukaemia is characterized by the appearance of an increased number of immature, highly nucleolated cells, these findings lend support to the hypothesis that the duplication of the Ph1 represents a feature possibly favoured by the pathological persistence of nucleolar RNA-rich structures in the metaphase.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells; D002466:Cell Nucleolus / Q000032:analysis*; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations; D025063:Chromosome Disorders; D002904:Chromosomes, Human, 21-22 and Y; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007951:Leukemia, Myeloid; D015470:Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012313:RNA / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D012313:RNA