title: Effect of differentiating agents on nucleolar organizer region activity in human melanoma cells.
abstract: A human cell line established from a metastatic melanoma had both multiple numerical and structural chromosome aberrations including one to two copies of a submetacentric marker chromosome with an insertion of an active nucleolar organizer region (NOR). Treatment of this cell line with retinoic acid (RA) induced morphologic differentiation and reduced the cellular saturation density concomitant with a significant decrease in Ag-NOR activity. RA-treated cells grown in the absence of this differentiating agent, however, displayed a return to normal Ag-NOR activity, indicating the effect of this chemical on ribosomal genes is reversible.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston 29425.
authors.forename: Y S
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: W S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Stanley
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D004121:Dimethyl Sulfoxide / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D007621:Karyotyping; D008545:Melanoma / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D051379:Mice; D008819:Mice, Nude; D009697:Nucleolus Organizer Region / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D014212:Tretinoin / Q000494:pharmacology; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D014801:Vitamin A; D014212:Tretinoin; D004121:Dimethyl Sulfoxide